• Carlos Taxonera, Cristina Alba, David Olivares, María Martin, Alejandro Ventero, and Mercedes Cañas.
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease Unit, Gastroenterology Department, Hospital Clínico San Carlos and Instituto de Investigación del Hospital Clínico San Carlos [IdISSC], Madrid, Spain.
• Inflamm. Bowel Dis. 2021 May 17; 27 (6): 864-869.

BackgroundThe coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a clinical situation that could be used as prototype for implementation of new systems of care.MethodsThis was a single-center, cross-sectional study. We evaluated the feasibility of a strategy based on the conversion of face-to-face visits to telephone consultations to manage IBD outpatients during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 4-item telephone survey (3 closed questions and a 100-point numeric description scale) was conducted to evaluate satisfaction of patients with telephone consultations.ResultsBetween March 11 and April 8, 2020, 98% of the 216 scheduled face-to-face visits could be converted to telephone consultations, and we resolved an additional 162 urgent consultations by telephone. The rate of IBD-related hospitalization and visits to the emergency department decreased by 50% and 58%, respectively, compared with rates in the same period the previous year. The 4-item survey was conducted in 171 outpatients. In closed questions, patients reported a very high degree of satisfaction with telephone consultations, with no differences between scheduled (n = 123) and urgent consultations (n = 48; P = NS). The overall satisfaction rating with the telephone consultation evaluated with the numerical description scale was 94% and 93% for scheduled and urgent consultations, respectively (P < 0.82). Less than 20% of patients would have preferred a face-to-face visit to the telephone consultation at the time.ConclusionsA strategy based on the conversion of face-to-face visits to telephone consultations was able to guarantee a minimum standard quality of care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients reported a very high degree of satisfaction with telephone consultations.© 2020 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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