Team Approach: Virtual Care in the Management of Orthopaedic Patients.

JBJS Rev · Jul 16 2021 · Review

Rubinger L, Gazendam A, Wood T, Yardley D, Shanthanna H, Bhandari M

Division of Orthopaedics, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Canada

General Orthopaedics

SUMMARY — THE REDUCTIONVirtual care is growing fast in orthopaedics but is not one-size-fits-all; success needs a well-defined team and shared vision, and effects on outcomes, cost, and satisfaction need study.
Abstract, as published

»: Telemedicine and remote care administered through technology are among the fastest growing sectors in health care. The utilization and implementation of virtual-care technologies have further been accelerated with the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

»: Remote, technology-based patient care is not a "one-size-fits-all" solution for all medical and surgical conditions, as each condition presents unique hurdles, and no true consensus exists regarding the efficacy of telemedicine across surgical fields.

»: When implementing virtual care in orthopaedics, as with standard in-person care, it is important to have a well-defined team structure with a deliberate team selection process. As always, a team with a shared vision for the care they provide as well as a supportive and incentivized environment are integral for the success of the virtual-care mechanism.

»: Future studies should assess the impact of primarily virtual, integrated, and multidisciplinary team-based approaches and systems of care on patient outcomes, health-care expenditure, and patient satisfaction in the orthopaedic population.

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