How telemedicine integrated into China’s anti-COVID-19 strategies: case from a National Referral Center
Name
e100164.full.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
299.2 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
551df4c8ee1db14cabc1c257e4302fa2
Author(s)
Li, Peiyi
Liu, Xiaoyu
Mason, Elizabeth
Hu, Guangyu
Zhou, Yongzhao
Li, Weimin
Jalali, Seyed Mohammad Javad
Date Issued
August 2020
Journal
BMJ Health & Care Informatics
Publisher
BMJ
Citation
Li, Peiyi et al. "How telemedicine integrated into China’s anti-COVID-19 strategies: case from a National Referral Center." BMJ Health & Care Informatics 27, 3 (August 2020): e100164 © 2020 Author(s)
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Introduction: We present the integration of telemedicine into the healthcare system of West China Hospital of Sichuan University (WCH), one of the largest hospitals in the world with 4300 inpatient beds, as a means for maximising the efficiency of healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Implemented on 22 January 2020, the telemedicine technology allowed WCH providers to conduct teleconsultations, telerounds, teleradiology and tele-intensive care unit, which in culmination provided screening, triage and treatment for COVID-19 and other illnesses. To encourage its adoption, the government and the hospital publicised the platform on social media and waived fees.Discussion: From 1 February to 1 April 2020, 10557 online COVID-19 consultations were conducted for 6662 individuals; meanwhile, 32676 patients without COVID completed virtual follow-ups. We discuss that high-quality, secure, affordable and user-friendly telemedical platforms should be integrated into global healthcare systems to help decrease the transmission of the virus and protect healthcare providers from infection.
MIT Department
Sloan School of Management
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjhci-2020-100164
