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      Telehealth Utilization during the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

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          Abstract

          During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, different technologies, including telehealth, are maximised to mitigate the risks and consequences of the disease. Telehealth has been widely utilised because of its usability and safety in providing healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a systematic literature review which provides extensive evidence on the impact of COVID-19 through telehealth and which covers multiple directions in a large-scale research remains lacking. This study aims to review telehealth literature comprehensively since the pandemic started. It also aims to map the research landscape into a coherent taxonomy and characterise this emerging field in terms of motivations, open challenges and recommendations. Articles related to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic were systematically searched in the WOS, IEEE, Science Direct, Springer and Scopus databases. The final set included (n=86) articles discussing telehealth applications with respect to (i) control (n=25), (ii) technology (n=14) and (iii) medical procedure (n=47). Since the beginning of the pandemic, telehealth has been presented in diverse cases. However, it still warrants further attention. Regardless of category, the articles focused on the challenges which hinder the maximisation of telehealth in such times and how to address them. With the rapid increase in the utilization of telehealth in different specialised hospitals and clinics, a potential framework which reflects the authors’ implications of the future application and opportunities of telehealth has been established. This article improves our understanding and reveals the full potential of telehealth during these difficult times and beyond.

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          Is Open Access

          A Practical Approach to the Management of Cancer Patients During the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 ( COVID ‐19) Pandemic: An International Collaborative Group

          Abstract The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has rapidly spread globally since being identified as a public health emergency of major international concern and has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). In December 2019, an outbreak of atypical pneumonia, known as COVID‐19, was identified in Wuhan, China. The newly identified zoonotic coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), is characterized by rapid human‐to‐human transmission. Many cancer patients frequently visit the hospital for treatment and disease surveillance. They may be immunocompromised due to the underlying malignancy or anticancer therapy and are at higher risk of developing infections. Several factors increase the risk of infection, and cancer patients commonly have multiple risk factors. Cancer patients appear to have an estimated twofold increased risk of contracting SARS‐CoV‐2 than the general population. With the WHO declaring the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, there is an urgent need to address the impact of such a pandemic on cancer patients. This include changes to resource allocation, clinical care, and the consent process during a pandemic. Currently and due to limited data, there are no international guidelines to address the management of cancer patients in any infectious pandemic. In this review, the potential challenges associated with managing cancer patients during the COVID‐19 infection pandemic will be addressed, with suggestions of some practical approaches. Implications for Practice The main management strategies for treating cancer patients during the COVID‐19 epidemic include clear communication and education about hand hygiene, infection control measures, high‐risk exposure, and the signs and symptoms of COVID‐19. Consideration of risk and benefit for active intervention in the cancer population must be individualized. Postponing elective surgery or adjuvant chemotherapy for cancer patients with low risk of progression should be considered on a case‐by‐case basis. Minimizing outpatient visits can help to mitigate exposure and possible further transmission. Telemedicine may be used to support patients to minimize number of visits and risk of exposure. More research is needed to better understand SARS‐CoV‐2 virology and epidemiology.
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            Virtual Ophthalmology: Telemedicine in a Covid-19 Era

            Purpose To discuss the effects of the SARS-Cov-2 betacoronavirus on ambulatory ophthalmology practices, the value proposition of telemedicine, tele-ophthalmology implementation methodologies, and the accelerated future of telemedicine. Design Review of the current telehealth landscape including usage, policies, and techniques for ambulatory practice integration. Methods We provide author-initiated review of recent trends in telehealth, governmental recommendations for healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a PubMed Central query for telemedicine in ophthalmology or tele-ophthalmology. In addition, authors’ comprehensive experience in telemedicine design and implementation is provided. Results A summary describing the present state of telehealth, tele-ophthalmology modeling, care delivery, and the proposed impact of telehealth surges on the future of ophthalmology practice. Conclusion Recent patient and provider interest in telemedicine, the relaxation of regulatory restrictions, increased remote care reimbursement, and ongoing social distancing practices compels many ophthalmologists to consider virtualizing services.
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              Telehealth for High-Risk Pregnancies in the Setting of the COVID-19 Pandemic

              As New York City became an international epicenter of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, telehealth was rapidly integrated into prenatal care at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, an academic hospital system in Manhattan. Goals of implementation were to consolidate in-person prenatal screening, surveillance, and examinations into fewer in-person visits while maintaining patient access to ongoing antenatal care and subspecialty consultations via telehealth virtual visits. The rationale for this change was to minimize patient travel and thus risk for COVID-19 exposure. Because a large portion of obstetric patients had underlying medical or fetal conditions placing them at increased risk for adverse outcomes, prenatal care telehealth regimens were tailored for increased surveillance and/or counseling. Based on the incorporation of telehealth into prenatal care for high-risk patients, specific recommendations are made for the following conditions, clinical scenarios, and services: (1) hypertensive disorders of pregnancy including preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and chronic hypertension; (2) pregestational and gestational diabetes mellitus; (3) maternal cardiovascular disease; (4) maternal neurologic conditions; (5) history of preterm birth and poor obstetrical history including prior stillbirth; (6) fetal conditions such as intrauterine growth restriction, congenital anomalies, and multiple gestations including monochorionic placentation; (7) genetic counseling; (8) mental health services; (9) obstetric anesthesia consultations; and (10) postpartum care. While telehealth virtual visits do not fully replace in-person encounters during prenatal care, they do offer a means of reducing potential patient and provider exposure to COVID-19 while providing consolidated in-person testing and services. Key Points Telehealth for prenatal care is feasible. Telehealth may reduce coronavirus exposure during prenatal care. Telehealth should be tailored for high risk prenatal patients.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Comput Biol Med
                Comput Biol Med
                Computers in Biology and Medicine
                Elsevier Ltd.
                0010-4825
                1879-0534
                20 September 2021
                20 September 2021
                : 104878
                Affiliations
                [a ]Department of Computing, Faculty of Arts, Computing and Creative Industry, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris ( UPSI), Perak, Malaysia
                [b ]Future Technology Research Centre, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, 123 University Road, Section 3, Douliou, Yunlin, 64002, Taiwan, R.O.C
                [c ]Australian Institute of Higher Education, Australia
                [d ]College of Business Informatics, University of Information Technology and Communications (UOITC), Baghdad, Iraq
                [e ]Biomedical Informatics College, University of Information Technology and Communications (UOITC), Baghdad, Iraq
                [f ]Computer Science Department, College of Information Technology, Hebron University, Hebron, Palestine
                [g ]Department of Computer Sciences, College of Education for Pure Sciences, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq
                [h ]Informatics Institute for Postgraduate Studies (IIPS), Iraqi Commission for Computers and Informatics (ICCI), Baghdad, Iraq
                [i ]Department of Computer Science, Computer Science and Mathematics College, Tikrit University, Iraq
                [j ]Computer Information System, Ahmed Bin Mohammed Military College, Al Shahaniya, Qatar
                Author notes
                []Corresponding author. Abdullah Alamoodi (A.H. Alamoodi), Tel.: +60 183740848; fax: +60 054506620
                Article
                S0010-4825(21)00672-7 104878
                10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104878
                8450049
                34592585
                6ab9261f-d899-49c2-9545-2732b2e27fab
                © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

                Since January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre - including this research content - immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active.

                History
                : 18 April 2021
                : 13 September 2021
                : 13 September 2021
                Categories
                Article

                covid-19,e-health,pandemic,sars-cov-2,telehealth,telemedicine
                covid-19, e-health, pandemic, sars-cov-2, telehealth, telemedicine

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