Journal of Biology and Today's World 2021, Vol.10, Issue 3, 001-003
1
Mini-Review
Telemedicine in Stroke Clinic during the COVID Era and the Challenges in Patient
Management: Review Article
Sajid Iqbal
1
, Aisha Hasan
2
, Behzad Saeed Gill
3
, Anab Rehan Taseer
4
, Aimen Iqbal
5
, Muhammad Hanif
6
, Sohaib Tousif
7
, Ahmed
Mohamed Abdelrhim Ellqany
8
, Fesih Muhammad Waseem
3
, Keron Akintola Ayodele Blair
9
, Anjli Tara
10
, Saif Ali Malik
3
, Zain
Ghufran Ul Haq
7
, Ahmed Mustafa
11
, Tetiana Medvid
12
, Nadeem Iqbal
13*
1
Department of Rehabilitation, PNS Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan
2
Department of Medicine, Avicenna Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan
3
Department of Medicine, Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan
4
Department of Medicine, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan
5
Department of Medicine, Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan
6
Department of Medicine, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan
7
Department of Medicine, Ziauddin Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan
8
Department of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
9
Department of Medicine, American International School of Medicine, Georgetown, Guyana
10
Department of Medicine, Liaqat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan
11
Department of Medicine, FMH College of Medicine and Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan
12
Department of Medicine, Danylo Halytsky Lviv, National Medical University, Lviv, Ukraine
13
Department of Urology and Kidney Transplant, Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute, Lahore, Pakistan
Corresponding Author*
Nadeem Iqbal
Department of Urology and Kidney Transplant,
Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute,
Lahore, Pakistan,
E-mail: dr_nadeemiqbal84@yahoo.com
Copyright: © 2021 Iqbal S, et al. This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction
in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Received date: March 12, 2021; Accepted date: March 26, 2021; Published date: April 02, 2021
Abstract
The ongoing COVID-19 challenge has disrupted the social, economic
and health care system around the globe. As a result of this pandemic,
social distancing policies have been strictly implemented creating an
immense stress on health care services. Telemedicine is an evolving
and a time-saving, logical and effective means for emergency patient
assessment. In far flung areas, where local consulting stroke specialist
are not available, telemedicine can act as an alternative tool for provision
of suitable stroke care within the short and safe therapeutic time window.
Telemedicine has a precious role in emergency stroke consultation.
Specialists have ability to swiftly evaluate and supervise management
of stroke patients telemedicine in coordination with the remote
physicians at the distant health units.
Keywords: COVID-19 • Pandemic • Thrombectomy • Stroke clinic • Telemedicine
clinic
Introduction
The ongoing COVID-19 challenge has affected social, economic
and health care system around the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic has
enormously impacted all specialty clinics also including neurology
practices across the globe. As a result of this pandemic, social distancing
policies have been strictly implemented creating an immense stress on
the world’s economic affairs, governance, organizational functioning,
and health care services. All this had resulted in cancellations of outdoor
clinic visits, interventional procedures [1-3].
Keeping in view the safety concerns to health care workers and
the patients alike, hospitals are desperately in search for coping with
pressures of demand for medical supplies and physicians in the face of
overburdened healthcare systems. New clinical pathways and tools are
underway during this crisis to safeguard the health care personnel and
patients [4-6].
From the genesis of the COVID-19 pandemic, stern social distancing
steps; promoted the utilization of telemedicine. It has become a key
tool to minimize the strain on clinicians and patients alike withstand the
current challenges [6-9]. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
has endorsed the concept of telemedicine in lieu of live clinic visits due
to the anticipated uncertain duration of lock downs and social distancing
[8-12].
Telemedicine can be defned as “the utilization of telecommunication
technologies to dispense medical information and services” and “the
exercise by which electronic, visual, and audio communications are used
to furnish diagnostic and consultation pathways to reinforce clinicians
at distant sites, assist in or directly deliver medical care to patients at
distant sites, and enhance the skills and knowledge of distant medical care
providers.” In order to combat the disparity between rural and urban care
and to promote enhance and optimize stroke services, Levine and Gorman
mapped out the concept of outreach for acute stroke telemedicine for
appraisal and management and called it “tele stroke” [13,14].
Telemedicine is evolving as a timesaving, logical and effective
means for emergency patient assessment. In far flung areas, where local
consulting stroke specialist are not available, telemedicine can act as an
alternative tool for provision of suitable stroke care within the short and
safe therapeutic time window. The stroke specialists are suitable enough
discourse queries regarding risk and benefts directly with the family right
away. Telemedicine has a precious role in emergency stroke consultation.
Specialists have ability to swiftly evaluate and supervise management
of stroke patients telemedicine with remote physicians at the distant
health units [12-15].
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