Telemedicine utilization and incorporation of asynchronous testing in a pediatric allergy clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

When the COVID-19 pandemic imposed the reduction of face-to-face encounters, many practices quickly adapted to use of telemedicine more broadly.1,2 Patient response to telemedicine has been favorable, so use beyond the COVID-19 pandemic continues to provide a convenient alternative for patients.3-5 However, the use of telemedicine for allergy evaluation restricts the ability to perform synchronous in-clinic testing. From our institution’s experience of conducting only telemedicine visits during clinic closures in spring 2020, we report the patterns of telemedicine use and allergy testing at an academic pediatric allergy clinic to evaluate the viability of telemedicine and asynchronous testing for management of allergic diseases beyond a pandemic setting.