Authors (including presenting author) :
To WHZ(1)(2), Sum YS(1), Hui SC(1), Tsui KC(1), Chan MY (1), Abdullah VJ(1)(2), Ku KMP(1)(2)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, United Christian Hospital, (2)Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Introduction :
Telemedicine in Hong Kong is gradually developed aiming to improve the quality of services. The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst in the development of telemedicine. Many different aspect of sleep services were affected during the pandemic. Stable patients were rescheduled for later follow-up appointments after screening the medical records. In order to minimize COVID-19 infection of both healthcare workers and patients, we provided an alternative for patients to follow-up through telemedicine. We have performed tele-consultation for patients with obstructive sleep apnea in Kowloon East Cluster.
Objectives :
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of tele-consultation for patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
Methodology :
This service was conducted during the 2nd and 3rd wave of COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong. Patients in Kowloon East Cluster, Ear Nose and Throat Sleep Clinic were invited to participate in tele-consultation for follow-up. Informed consents were obtained for all patients. A website was set up to provide background information regarding the tele-consultation service for patients. The tele-consultation was conducted via the encrypted software “Zoom”. Updated reports and physical measurements such as weight, height, body mass index and blood pressure were recorded by patients at home before the consultations. Patients were advised to fill in an online questionnaire to score on a 10-point scale (10: most satisfactory, 1: least satisfactory) after consultation for feedback.
Result & Outcome :
20 patients (16 Males and 4 females) with a mean age of 41.5±12.05 participated in tele-consultation in sleep clinic for follow-up. Case variations included explaining update sleep study reports, sleep nasoendoscopy findings, reviewing continuous positive airway pressure usage reports and stable post-operation cases. Regarding the results of the post-consultation online questionnaire (Figure 4), all questions had an average score of 9.1±1.33. General satisfaction average score was 9±1.08. The willingness for future usage of teleconsultation average score was 8.7±1.69 over 10.
Majority of patients had a satisfactory experience of using tele-consultation in sleep clinic. The arrangement of tele-consultation not only offered the benefits of minimizing COVID-19 infection to ensure safety to both healthcare workers and patients but also maximized the efficiency in health care delivery.
