జర్నల్ ఆఫ్ పెయిన్ మేనేజ్‌మెంట్ & మెడిసిన్

నైరూప్య

COVID-19 and E-Consultation in Orthopaedics: Experience on Delineating the Spectrum of Orthopaedic Disorders Amenable To Treatment via Tele-Consultation

Purushotham Lingaiah

Context: COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown scenario has forced to shut down the Outpatient consultation in hospitals and clinics. It was challenging to help out the patient population who were routine health care seekers for maintenance and follow-up.

Aims: To tackle the prevailing routine Orthopaedic health care issue due to COVID-19 lockdown strategy through Tele-consultation and to delineate the spectrum of Orthopaedic disorders that were amenable to treatment by e- Consultation.

Materials and methods: We executed two Tele consultation designs (Call based and App based) for our institution to reach out to the patients. The Orthopaedic patient characteristics and disease management was documented and analyzed.

Results: A total of 468 consultations with diverse Orthopaedic disorders including Congenital lesions, Developmental and Metabolic disorders, Infective disorders, inflammatory disorders, Traumatic disorders, Tumors, Degenerative disorders and Repetitive Strain Injuries were addressed.

Conclusion: Clinical decision making through Tele-consultation in Orthopaedics is demanding. However, majority of routine Orthopaedic disorders are amenable to management.