Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · Jul 2020
Measure what matters: Counts of hospitalized patients are a better metric for health system capacity planning for a reopening.
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires accurate forecasting of health system capacity requirements using readily available inputs. We examined whether testing and hospitalization data could help quantify the anticipated burden on the health system given shelter-in-place (SIP) order. ⋯ Without using local hospitalization rates and the age distribution of positive patients, current models are likely to overestimate the resource burden of COVID-19. It is imperative that health systems start using these data to quantify effects of SIP and aid reopening planning.
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · Jul 2020
COVID-19 transforms health care through telemedicine: Evidence from the field.
This study provides data on the feasibility and impact of video-enabled telemedicine use among patients and providers and its impact on urgent and nonurgent healthcare delivery from one large health system (NYU Langone Health) at the epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States. Between March 2nd and April 14th 2020, telemedicine visits increased from 102.4 daily to 801.6 daily. (683% increase) in urgent care after the system-wide expansion of virtual urgent care staff in response to COVID-19. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic has driven rapid expansion of telemedicine use for urgent care and nonurgent care visits beyond baseline periods. This reflects an important change in telemedicine that other institutions facing the COVID-19 pandemic should anticipate.
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · Jul 2020
Rapid Deployment of Inpatient Telemedicine In Response to COVID-19 Across Three Health Systems.
To reduce pathogen exposure, conserve personal protective equipment, and facilitate health care personnel work participation in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, three affiliated institutions rapidly and independently deployed inpatient telemedicine programs during March 2020. We describe key features and early learnings of these programs in the hospital setting. ⋯ The rapid deployment of inpatient telemedicine is feasible across diverse settings as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · Jul 2020
An interactive online dashboard for tracking COVID-19 in U.S. counties, cities, and states in real time.
The study sought to create an online resource that informs the public of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks in their area. ⋯ The COVID-19 Watcher can provide the public with real-time updates of outbreaks in their area.
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · Jun 2020
Rapid design and implementation of an integrated patient self-triage and self-scheduling tool for COVID-19.
To rapidly deploy a digital patient-facing self-triage and self-scheduling tool in a large academic health system to address the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Patient self-triage tools integrated into electronic health record systems have the potential to greatly improve triage efficiency and prevent unnecessary visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.