Benefits and shortcomings of utilizing telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic

Mark Burroughs; Ivan Urits; Omar Viswanath; Thomas Simopoulos; Jamal Hasoon

doi:10.1080/08998280.2020.1792728

Benefits and shortcomings of utilizing telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic

Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2020 Aug 3;33(4):699-700. doi: 10.1080/08998280.2020.1792728.

Authors

Mark Burroughs¹, Ivan Urits², Omar Viswanath^{3

4

5

6}, Thomas Simopoulos², Jamal Hasoon²

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Surgery, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
² Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
³ Valley Anesthesiology and Pain Consultants, Envision Physician Services, Phoenix, Arizona.
⁴ Department of Anesthesiology, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona.
⁵ Department of Anesthesiology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska.
⁶ Department of Anesthesiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana.

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed health care systems around the world, new strategies to mitigate its spread and provide patients access to health care have been employed. Although a critical component of this strategy, telemedicine is not a perfect solution for many scenarios and is often limited. Overall, telemedicine has been an invaluable tool to improve access to care and minimize the risk of person-to-person transmission of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; telemedicine.