From Isolation to Coordination: How Can Telemedicine Help Combat the COVID-19 Outbreak?

Zhai, Y.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, M.; Gittell, J. H.; Jiang, S.; Chen, B.; Cui, F.; He, X.; Zhao, J.; Wang, X.

Hospitals are suffering from a critical challenge induced by the rapid spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Not only have patients been marginalized, but many clinicians working in the region-al hospitals have limited access to the specialist consultations and treatment guidelines they need from provincial-level hospitals to manage pneumonia cases caused by COVID-19. Telemedicine has been acknowledged as a breakthrough technology in combating epidemics. This study aims to demonstrate the implementation of Emergency Telemedicine Consultation System (ETCS) since COVID-2019 first emerged in Henan Province, beginning in late December 2019. This system was developed for coronavirus care across 126 connected hospitals, serving as the overarching authoritative source for diagnostic decision making and knowledge sharing for treatment. The information shared could rapidly expand to enable open collaborations with key stakeholders such as government authorities, research institutions and laboratories. The experience from building this system during this crisis can provide insights to guide public health institutions as they implement telemedicine to increase resilience to future epidemic outbreaks. © 2021, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.