Synchronous Audio-Visual Telemedicine At Wills Eye Hospital During Covid-19

Purpose : To describe the use of synchronous audio-visual telemedicine at Wills Eye Hospital (WEH) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods : A retrospective chart review was performed on visits coded as synchronous, audio-visual telemedicine, covering March 15 to May 15 , 2020. Telemedicine software reported the length of synchronous patient and physician time in the visit. Patient satisfaction surveys were completed at the conclusion of each visit. Results are analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results : During the study period, WEH performed synchronous, audio-visual telemedicine for 495 patients. Patients averaged 51 years of age, with a range from 1 to 98 years. 61% of patients were female and 44% identified as white. The Primary Eyecare Service performed the plurality of evaluations (40%), with the remainder performed by the departments of Ocular Oncology (20%), Cornea (12%), Neuro-Ophthalmology (11%), Oculoplastics (6%), Pediatric Ophthalmology (6%), Glaucoma (5%), and Retina (1%). The most common diagnosis categories were blepharitis or dry eye (10%);stye, chalazion or other eyelid pathology (8%);glaucoma (6%);anterior uveitis (4%);choroidal melanoma (4%);corneal abrasion (3%);allergic conjunctivitis (3%);herpetic dermatitis (3%);viral conjunctivitis (2%);and strabismus (2%). Median synchronous patient-physician time in the visit was 9 minutes. Patients, on average, answered 9.2 out of 10 as their likelihood of recommending the service to a friend. Conclusions : During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, WEH employed synchronous audio-visual telemedicine across a wide range of clinical indications with acceptable operational efficiency and high patient satisfaction.