Telemedicine and Ophthalmology Amidst covid-19: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Introduction: Doctors have had to adapt to an unknown and unexpected situation and within these changes it was necessary to use tools to which they have been a little reluctant to use, such as telemedicine to continue with the assessment of patients from different medical specialties such as ophthalmology. Aim: To show the results of the description of the experience of the practice of telemedicine in ophthalmology as a useful tool for access to a specialized consultation that would be decisive, during the time of the covid-19 pandemic in an ophthalmological center in Bogota Colombia. Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out including pediatric and adult patients who attended a telemedicine consultation with some of the 16 ophthalmologists of Oftalmosanitas, in the services of general ophthalmology, retina, glaucoma, cornea, pediatrics and uveitis, between 15 April and August 31, 2020. Variables such as age, sex, type of consultation, treating specialty, diagnosis and management plan were included. Results: Information was collected from 23,629 consultations, the average age was 53.6 years, 62.29% were women and 92.52% were of legal age. Regarding the perception of physicians, 100% considered that this consultation modality has been useful for the current contingency and that the majority of patients are satisfied with the care. Conclusions: The exercise of ophthalmology telemedicine in our institution managed to attend and solve a large number of consultations. In addition, this experience was widely accepted by doctors and patients as they gained access to specialized care that was able to solve most of the reasons for consultation by requesting diagnostic tests.