Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2020
The Impact of Digital-First Consultations on Workload in General Practice: Modeling Study.
Health services in many countries are promoting digital-first models of access to general practice based on offering online, video, or telephone consultations before a face-to-face consultation. It is claimed that this will improve access for patients and moderate the workload of doctors. However, improved access could also potentially increase doctors' workload. ⋯ Digital-first approaches to primary care could increase general practice workload unless stringent conditions are met. Justification for these approaches should be based on evidence about the benefits in relation to the costs, rather than assumptions about reductions in workload. Given the potential increase in workload, which in due course could worsen problems of access, these initiatives should be implemented in a staged way alongside careful evaluation.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2020
Internet Use, Risk Awareness, and Demographic Characteristics Associated With Engagement in Preventive Behaviors and Testing: Cross-Sectional Survey on COVID-19 in the United States.
During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, engagement in preventive behaviors and getting tested for the virus play a crucial role in protecting people from contracting the new coronavirus. ⋯ Our findings revealed that the extent of receiving COVID-19-related information online, risk awareness, and demographic characteristics including sex, ethnicity, age, marital status, and employment status are key factors associated with US residents' engagement in various preventive behaviors and testing for COVID-19.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2020
Nature and Diffusion of COVID-19-related Oral Health Information on Chinese Social Media: Analysis of Tweets on Weibo.
Social media has become increasingly important as a source of information for the public and is widely used for health-related information. The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has exerted a negative impact on dental practices. ⋯ Our study overviewed and analyzed social media data on the dental services and oral health information during the COVID-19 epidemic, thus, providing insights for government organizations, media, and dental professionals to better facilitate oral health communication and efficiently shape public concern through social media when routine dental services are unavailable during an unprecedented event. The study of the nature and distribution of social media can serve as a useful adjunct tool to help make public health policies.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2020
Why African Americans Are a Potential Target for COVID-19 Infection in the United States.
Since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic, significant changes have occurred in the United States as the infection spread reached and passed its exponential phase. A stringent analysis of COVID-19 epidemiologic data requires time and would generally be expected to happen with significant delay after the exponential phase of the disease is over and when the focus of the health care system is diverted away from crisis management. ⋯ There are currently some data on disparities between African American and Caucasian populations for COVID-19 infection and mortality. While health care authorities are reorganizing resources and infrastructure to provide care for symptomatic COVID-19 patients, they should not shy away from protecting the general public as a whole and specifically the most vulnerable members of society, such as the elderly, ethnic minorities, and people with underlying comorbidities.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2020
Information Technology-Based Management of Clinically Healthy COVID-19 Patients: Lessons From a Living and Treatment Support Center Operated by Seoul National University Hospital.
South Korea took preemptive action against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by implementing extensive testing, thorough epidemiological investigation, strict social distancing, and rapid treatment of patients according to disease severity. The Korean government entrusted large-scale hospitals with the operation of living and treatment support centers (LTSCs) for the management for clinically healthy COVID-19 patients. ⋯ Faced with a novel infectious disease, we describe the implementation and experience of applying an ICT-based patient management system in the LTSC affiliated with Seoul National University Hospital. ICT-based tools and applications are increasingly important in health care, and we hope that our experience will provide insight into future technology-based infectious disease responses.