Abstract 15616: Virtual Care: Empowering Patients and Providers

• Published in: Circulation (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 142; no. Suppl_3 Suppl 3; p. A15616
• Main Authors: Paruchuri, Kaavya, Bhattacharya, Romit, Pagliaro, Jaclyn, Bhatt, Ami
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: by the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association, Inc 17.11.2020
• ISSN: 0009-7322; 1524-4539
• DOI: 10.1161/circ.142.suppl_3.15616

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed widespread usage of telemedicine due to the unprecedented need for remote patient care. Scaling virtual visits from occasional occurrences to standard of care is not without hurdles. Here we describe operationalizing virtual cardiovascular clinic in one large academic teaching hospital.MethodsTo avoid implicit bias in perceived comfort with technology, virtual video (VV) visits were offered to all patients whose in-person office visit was cancelled. Those who declined were subsequently offered phone appointments. Patients who agreed to VV were called prior to their appointment time by staff to guide them through setup. Providers were given written, illustrated instructions on setup augmented with short how-to video demonstrations. They each completed a practice session with a staff member acting as a “test patient” to demonstrate basic functions within Zoom including use of chat, virtual waiting room, screen share and inviting additional participants (such as family, staff or interpreters). Providers were trained on workflows to allow seamless transitions across multidisciplinary team members involved in patient care.ResultsPrior to the pandemic, there were mean (SD) 12.6 (2.8) VV appointments per month. Telemedicine adoption rose rapidly across provider types after travel restrictions were enacted, with the majority of visits initially occurring telephonically (Figure 1A and 1B). VV visits were also noted to increase swiftly with 3,164 VV visits in April 2020 and 5,452 in May 2020. After training sessions, providers felt comfortable using integrated virtual care tools (Figure 1C).ConclusionsVirtual clinic can be rapidly implemented and scaled within a healthcare system. Training materials and support for both patients and providers are key to increasing adoption of new technology. Hybrid systems will be needed to harmonize synchronous in-person and asynchronous virtual care in the longer term.