Telehealth and Telecare: A Real-Life Integrated Experience in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b><i>In the first few months of 2020, Lombardy was the hardest-hit region in Italy for COVID-19 cases. Our Rehabilitation Institute offered a telemedicine service to COVID-19 patients discharged after hospitalization.</i><b><i>Methods:</i></b><i>Patients transferred from Emergency, Intensive Care, and Pulmonology departments of the principal regional hospital hubs had an average stay in our hospital of 2-3 weeks. On discharge, at home, they underwent a telecare nursing and specialist teleconsultation program for 3 months, including monitoring of vital signs and symptoms. Patients completed the SF-12 questionnaire at the start and end of the program and rated their satisfaction with it.</i><b><i>Results:</i></b><i>The program involved 130 patients (51%). During the period, there were 14 ± 2 (1,800 in total) telenursing support phone calls per patient made, and 12.5 ± 3.4 oxygen saturation readings per patient (1,631 in total). Persisting symptoms, frequently in combination, were present at the start of the program in 124 (94%) patients. There was a significant reduction of symptoms (</i>p <i>< 0.0000) after the telecare program. The physical component of SF-12 significantly improved at the end [Δ(</i>t<i>1-</i>t<i>0) = 6.7 ± 9.3, p < 0.0001]. On the contrary, the mental component of SF-12 remained unchanged or decreased slightly in patients ≤70 years of age [Δ(</i>t<i>1-</i>t<i>0) = -2.7 ± 12.3, ns], while it decreased significantly [Δ(</i>t<i>1-</i>t<i>0) = -5.4 ± 12.4, p = 0.0367] in older patients (although remaining mild). Patient satisfaction with the program was very high in all 130 patients.</i><i>Co</i><b><i>nclusions:</i></b><i>Our Telehealth and Telecare Service offers an example of rapid scaling and adaptation of an existing program to meet the needs of COVID-19 patients. Our findings indicate that telemedicine can be an integral part of clinical practice if supported by the institution with training and IT support provided to patients, nurses, and clinicians.</i>