AUTHOR=Bhaskar Sonu , Bradley Sian , Chattu Vijay Kumar , Adisesh Anil , Nurtazina Alma , Kyrykbayeva Saltanat , Sakhamuri Sateesh , Moguilner Sebastian , Pandya Shawna , Schroeder Starr , Banach Maciej , Ray Daniel TITLE=Telemedicine as the New Outpatient Clinic Gone Digital: Position Paper From the Pandemic Health System REsilience PROGRAM (REPROGRAM) International Consortium (Part 2) JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=8 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00410 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2020.00410 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=

Technology has acted as a great enabler of patient continuity through remote consultation, ongoing monitoring, and patient education using telephone and videoconferencing in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era. The devastating impact of COVID-19 is bound to prevail beyond its current reign. The vulnerable sections of our community, including the elderly, those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, those with multiple comorbidities, and immunocompromised patients, endure a relatively higher burden of a pandemic such as COVID-19. The rapid adoption of different technologies across countries, driven by the need to provide continued medical care in the era of social distancing, has catalyzed the penetration of telemedicine. Limiting the exposure of patients, healthcare workers, and systems is critical in controlling the viral spread. Telemedicine offers an opportunity to improve health systems delivery, access, and efficiency. This article critically examines the current telemedicine landscape and challenges in its adoption, toward remote/tele-delivery of care, across various medical specialties. The current consortium provides a roadmap and/or framework, along with recommendations, for telemedicine uptake and implementation in clinical practice during and beyond COVID-19.