The Utility of Telehealth in the Recovery From the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors: Zhongming Chen ¹, John M Tarazi ¹, Hytham S Salem ¹, Giles R Scuderi ¹, Michael M Mont ^{1 2}

¹Northwell Health Orthopaedics, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, New York.

²Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics, Center for Joint Preservation and Replacement, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland.

Abstract

Telehealth has recently been used more often in an attempt to protect practitioners and patients during the 2019 coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) crisis. Despite telehealth's existence, there was no prior need to fully realize its potential. Recently, technological innovations in orthopaedic surgery have assisted in making this modality more useful. However, it is important to continually educate the medical community regarding these technologies and their interplay to improve patient care. Therefore, our purpose is to provide information on telehealth by assessing: (1) steps the hospital/system are taking to reduce COVID-19 exposure for teams and patients; (2) new technologies allowing for the optimization of patient safety; and (3) use of telehealth for postoperative follow up. We will demonstrate that telehealth and its associated strategies can be used effectively to decrease COVID-19 exposure risks for both medical staff and patients during these rapidly changing and uncertain times.