Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Leveraging Telemedicine to Optimize Care While Minimizing Exposures and Viral Transmission

Chauhan, Vivek; Galwankar, Sagar; Arquilla, Bonnie; Garg, Manish; Somma, Salvatore Di; El-Menyar, Ayman; Krishnan, Vimal; Gerber, Joel; Holland, Reuben; Stawicki, Stanislaw P.

Few health-care systems around the world are equipped to deal with the potentially massive numbers of infections, acutely ill patients, as well as population-level anxiety related to both COVID-19 and the restrictions put into place to help contain its spread. [17] [18] [19] In China, COVID-19 infections escalated quickly and without warning, with little time for emergency procedures or other mitigation efforts. Other provinces in China have not shown similar massive increase in infections and deaths as seen in the Hubei province. However, this was achieved at a great cost for the 40-60 million residents of Wuhan and 15 other surrounding cities within Hubei Province who were subjected to community containment measures. [13, 20] The human movement restrictions may be prolonged for now as approximately 14% of recovered coronavirus patients in China's Guangdong have tested positive again after being declared virus free and there is no consensus on the optimal length of the quarantine. [21] Like any other defining challenge in human history, the current emergence of COVID-19 comes with its own unique opportunities and innovative solutions. Technological advances provide humanity with new, previously unavailable