Televisit for chronic heart disease: a new normal with many benefits and some obstacles

G Ital Cardiol (Rome). 2021 Nov;22(11):931-941. doi: 10.1714/3689.36752.

ABSTRACT

Our review specifically focuses on virtual visit (televisit) in cardiology. Telemedicine comes as a response to the challenge caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the many possibilities offered by telemedicine, one is the videoconference modality which consists of an online consultation, where a live interaction is created in real time through a video call system: recent studies confirm the rapid increase in video consultations during the pandemic. Despite the ongoing debate around the effectiveness of telemedicine in cardiology, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it necessary to move more or less immediately towards remote modalities to guarantee the continuation of care for cardiological patients. The transition generated many important questions about quality of care and patient and medical use. Most patients would benefit from virtual visit, as its implementation has shown similar results to face-to-face consultation, improving patient health and satisfaction, and improving access to health services. Virtual visit programming and regulation will be required, with a homogeneous system of platforms within which the services will operate, integrated with the "normal" diagnosis and therapy paths. Virtual visit must be an ordinary way of providing services and not an exception. Finally, the use of digital systems cannot be limited to the experienced citizen, but must be adapted to the skills of younger and less competent patients.

PMID:34709233 | DOI:10.1714/3689.36752