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An ongoing outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing public health concern on a global scale.1 With substantial person-to-person transmission, special attention is needed to reduce transmission and to protect susceptible populations, including older people who live with weakened immune systems.2 As a result of this viral outbreak, the world as we know it is changing and barriers to delivering health care remotely are disappearing rapidly. Projects long in the planning are leapfrogging developmental stages straight into implementation, driven by the urgent need to share healthcare information to mitigate challenges raised by social distancing. For those of us interested in exploring remote ways to support patient care in the primary care setting, the COVID-19 global pandemic presents a unique natural experiment that can inform future best practice for digital health care. Swift additions to the technological healthcare ‘toolkit’ include video-based consultation,3 provision of tablet computers to facilitate ‘virtual visits’,4 and telephone-first assessment. Patients and clinicians alike are embracing digital health. A survey reported that 38% of responders increased their use of NHS technology since the start of the outbreak.5 People with suspected COVID-19 symptoms have been receiving regular check-ins from an NHS messaging service. The NHS app has been downloaded 434 000 times since 24 February 2020,6 offering a gateway to NHS services; patients can use the app to book appointments and view …
Newhouse et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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