How We Continued to Care for Our Patients: The Rapid Implementation of Telemedicine to Provide Pediatric Musculoskeletal Care in Response to COVID-19 at a Large Academic Children's Hospital

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to outline the telemedicine strategies and infrastructure implemented by the Division of Orthopaedics due to the COVID-19 pandemic at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). We rapidly implemented new tools to make the transition to telemedicine possible. This involved leveraging existing infrastructure to develop clinical decision support, a centralized training platform, and access to real time data for quality improvement. Our division now conducts over 50% of visits via telemedicine. In the first 3 weeks, established patients accounted for the largest proportion of these visits, and knee injuries were the most common diagnoses encountered. Preliminary results indicated high satisfaction with the telemedicine experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has required healthcare providers to rapidly implement telemedicine on a larger scale than ever before. We expect that the expansion of telemedicine will increase access to healthcare beyond the pandemic. Key Concepts: • Telemedicine is an effective addition to in-person care and will expand access to care beyond the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. • Electronic Medical Record portals provide functional media platforms for virtual telemedicine visits. • Engagement between the clinical team and data analytics is necessary to analyze data in real-time and make informed decisions. • Telemedicine has been a driving force behind maintaining access to patient care and in a time when it would not be otherwise possible.