Team Approach: Virtual Care in the Management of Orthopaedic Patients.

Rubinger, Luc; Gazendam, Aaron; Wood, Thomas; Yardley, Darryl; Shanthanna, Harsha; Bhandari, Mohit

» Telemedicine and remote care administered through technology are among the fastest growing sectors in health care. The utilization and implementation of virtual-care technologies have further been accelerated with the recent COVID-19 pandemic. » Remote, technology-based patient care is not a "one-size-fits-all" solution for all medical and surgical conditions, as each condition presents unique hurdles, and no true consensus exists regarding the efficacy of telemedicine across surgical fields. » When implementing virtual care in orthopaedics, as with standard in-person care, it is important to have a well-defined team structure with a deliberate team selection process. As always, a team with a shared vision for the care they provide as well as a supportive and incentivized environment are integral for the success of the virtual-care mechanism. » Future studies should assess the impact of primarily virtual, integrated, and multidisciplinary team-based approaches and systems of care on patient outcomes, health-care expenditure, and patient satisfaction in the orthopaedic population.