Carlos Prada1, Nicolás Izquierdo2, Reinaldo Traipe2, Catalina Figueroa3. 1. Orthopedic Surgery Department, Hospital Regional de Puerto Montt, Puerto Montt, Chile. 2. Hospital de Calbuco, Calbuco, Chile. 3. Servicio de Salud del Reloncaví, Puerto Montt, Los Lago, Chile.
Abstract
Introduction: There are few studies showing results about telemedicine strategies in traumatology and orthopedics. We present a new tele-orthopedic strategy started in 2017 at the Reloncaví Health Service in Chile. Our objective was to evaluate its efficiency and impact on the orthopedic surgery specialty care waiting times of the inhabitants of the Calbuco area. Methods: We selected two general practitioners from the Calbuco Hospital who evaluated patients on the waiting list of the specialty. Synchronous connections were made between them and one orthopedic surgeon staff at the referral hospital. Connections were conducted every 2 weeks. Four to eight cases were analyzed in each session. Results: Two hundred ninety-three (n = 293) attentions were performed between June 2017 and July 2018. Highly rural patients constituted 30%. After the first evaluation by the physicians of the Calbuco Hospital, 69.6% (204/293) of the patients' consultations were resolved. The remaining 30.4% (89 patients) were presented to the specialist by telemedicine, from which 69.7% (62) required one or more follow-up connections through tele-orthopedic and 30.3% (27) were referred for on-site assessment by a subspecialist. The waiting times of the referrals decreased on average from 201 to 40 days. Discussion: This new strategy had a significant impact on the population of Calbuco, especially for the rural population. It has been possible to significantly reduce waiting list times and optimize travel times and expenditures. Only a small percentage of patients required on-site attention by a specialist after the videoconference, exhibiting the efficiency of this strategy.
Introduction: There are few studies showing results about telemedicine strategies in traumatology and orthopedics. We present a new tele-orthopedic strategy started in 2017 at the Reloncaví Health Service in Chile. Our objective was to evaluate its efficiency and impact on the orthopedic surgery specialty care waiting times of the inhabitants of the Calbuco area. Methods: We selected two general practitioners from the Calbuco Hospital who evaluated patients on the waiting list of the specialty. Synchronous connections were made between them and one orthopedic surgeon staff at the referral hospital. Connections were conducted every 2 weeks. Four to eight cases were analyzed in each session. Results: Two hundred ninety-three (n = 293) attentions were performed between June 2017 and July 2018. Highly rural patients constituted 30%. After the first evaluation by the physicians of the Calbuco Hospital, 69.6% (204/293) of the patients' consultations were resolved. The remaining 30.4% (89 patients) were presented to the specialist by telemedicine, from which 69.7% (62) required one or more follow-up connections through tele-orthopedic and 30.3% (27) were referred for on-site assessment by a subspecialist. The waiting times of the referrals decreased on average from 201 to 40 days. Discussion: This new strategy had a significant impact on the population of Calbuco, especially for the rural population. It has been possible to significantly reduce waiting list times and optimize travel times and expenditures. Only a small percentage of patients required on-site attention by a specialist after the videoconference, exhibiting the efficiency of this strategy.
Authors: P Zamora Navas; E Montañez Heredia; J Nieto Orellana; C Gónzalez García; L Cano Obando; L Cárdenas Rebollo; Y Abderrachid Al Chaid; M Saadouli Arco; I Rodríguez Delourme; M Díez Izquierdo; L F Prado Martín de Lucía; J Durán Garrido; M Fernández Hijano; R Víquez da Silva; C Olofsson Suárez-Bárcena; C Jiménez Garrido; J J García Vera; J Pérez Cardeña; S Irízar Jiménez; J L Esteban Del Castillo; M García Píriz; J M Gómez Palomo; F J A Fernández Martín; P Huertas Segador; J Santos de la Fuente; J Serrano Fernández; F Estades Rubio; A Fernández de Rota; J M García Herrera; A Leiva Gea; M Lombardo Torre; J Mariscal Lara; B Martín Castilla; V Urbano Labajos; A Sánchez García; V Quirante Sánchez; S Cañada Oya; M Rodríguez Jiménez; B Delgado Rufino; A Queipo de Llano Temboury; M Barón Romero; M D López Hermoso; M Benavente Casajús; T Loring Caffarena; M A Chaparro Villar; F de la Torre Solís Journal: Rev Esp Cir Ortop Traumatol (Engl Ed) Date: 2020-10-14
Authors: Noel Oizerovici Foni; Lauro Augusto Veloso Costa; Leandro Manuel Reis Velloso; Carlos Henrique Sartorato Pedrotti Journal: Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med Date: 2020-10-29