Accelerated implementation of teleconsultation services for the monitoring of oral potentially malignant disorders as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2022
Abstract
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption of digital health in healthcare has been slow despite evidence of potential benefits particularly in improving patient access to care. Reservations in the uptake of telemedicine are mainly associated with the perception that remote consultation may be less accurate due to the lack of physical examination [1]. Furthermore, many projects remain in the research setting or as pilots and fail to be integrated into clinical pathways, due to administrative, regulatory and infrastructural barriers. As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, cancer care, including oral cancer (OC) and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) was suspended to curb infection rates, putting patients at risk of missed or delayed diagnosis [3]. Inevitably, alternative care pathways such as teleconsultation were adopted for the follow-up or triaging of new OC and OPMD patients. The benefits of teleconsultation include real-time monitoring, time, and cost savings for patients, providing access to care for patients lacking mobility and those who live far from specialist centers. Especially when physical access is restricted, the pandemic could serve as a catalyst in promoting the acceptance of telemedicine.
Keywords
COVID-19, Humans, Pandemics, Remote Consultation, SARS-CoV-2, Adult, Article, Awareness, Clinical article, Clinical practice, Coronavirus disease 2019, Health care access, Health care planning, Health service, Health survey, Human, Infection rate, Knowledge, Middle aged, Mouth cancer, Oral lichen planus, Oral potentially malignant disorder, Pandemic, Patient attitude, Patient empowerment, Patient engagement, Patient monitoring, Perception, Scale up, Teleconsultation, Ssability, Pandemic
Divisions
ai,Computer,Dentistry,MathematicalSciences
Funders
None
Publication Title
Oral Oncology
Volume
126
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd