Continuity of care for patients with dementia during COVID-19 pandemic: flexibility and integration between in-person and remote visits

Abstract

Introduction: During the pandemic, the Cognitive Disorders Unit of San Raffaele Hospital (Milan, Italy) offered patients the opportunity to undergo neuropsychological evaluations and cognitive training through telemedicine. Method: We conducted an investigation to assess how patients responded to this option and to determine if telemedicine could ensure continuity of care. Results: Between October 2019 and May 2022, a total of 5,768 telemedicine appointments and 8,190 in-person outpatient appointments were conducted, resulting in an increase in the rate of telemedicine activity from 16.81% in January 2020 to 23.21% in May 2022. Peaks in telemedicine activity reached 85.64% in May 2020 and 83.65% in February 2021, both representing a significant portion of the total activity. Interestingly, there was a notable positive correlation between telemedicine activity and the worsening of the Italian pandemic (r = 0.433, p = 0.027). Discussion: During the peaks of contagion, the total number of visits remained stable, highlighting that telemedicine effectively served as a valuable and efficient tool to ensure continuity of care for vulnerable patients. This was evident from the integration of remote visits with in-person appointments.