European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2020
Telemedicine from research to practice during the pandemic. "Instant paper from the field" on rehabilitation answers to the COVID-19 emergency.
COVID-19 pandemic is creating collateral damage to outpatients, whose rehabilitation services have been disrupted in most of the European countries. Telemedicine has been advocated as a possible solution. This paper reports the contents of the third Italian Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (SIMFER) webinar on "experiences from the field" COVID-19 impact on rehabilitation ("Covinars"). ⋯ Shadows included that telemedicine can integrate but will never substitute face-to-face rehabilitation base on the encounter among human beings; age, and technology barriers (devices absence, bad connection and human diffidence) have also been reported. Possible issues included privacy and informed consent, payments, cultural difficulties in understanding that telemedicine is a real rehabilitation intervention. There was a final agreement that this experience will be incorporated by participants in their future services: technology is ready, but the real challenge is to change PRM physicians' and patients' habits, while better specific regulation is warranted.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2020
Living with a disability during the pandemic. "Instant paper from the field" on rehabilitation answers to the COVID-19 emergency.
COVID-19 pandemic is creating collateral damage to persons with disabling conditions of different aetiology. The restrictions imposed to contain the spread of infection is limiting the access to many health services, including rehabilitation. ⋯ Seven representatives of Associations of persons affected by different disabling conditions described the difficulties they are facing during the pandemic, the initiatives undertaken to support their members and their future perspectives and expectations. The users' inputs will be helpful in planning the future phases of the emergency and improve preparedness for other emergencies.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2020
Rehabilitation management of patients with COVID-19: lessons learned from the first experience in China.
Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new disease characterized by lung damage and involvement in multiple tissues and organs in the whole body. Some of the patients may have long-term impairment and dysfunctions, including pulmonary fibrosis, heart, liver, kidney, nerve and immune system. ⋯ Rehabilitation is not offside or absent. A reasonable rehabilitation program needs scientific research to avoid arbitrary conclusions.