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Emergency physicians' role in telemedicine care during the coronavirus disease pandemic: Experiences from Taiwan
Author(s) -
Chu ChienMing,
Wang TsungHsi,
Lee HsinChung,
Lin ChaouShune,
Feng ChoChao
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
emergency medicine australasia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.602
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1742-6723
pISSN - 1742-6731
DOI - 10.1111/1742-6723.13731
Subject(s) - medicine , pandemic , telemedicine , covid-19 , medical emergency , coronavirus , emergency medicine , disease , family medicine , infectious disease (medical specialty) , health care , virology , outbreak , economics , economic growth
Taiwan's response to the coronavirus disease pandemic received international recognition. Among various epidemic control measures, telemedicine services are provided for people under home quarantine. Although this service presents no policy, cost or equipment problems, the medical needs of people under home quarantine are diverse. Further, there are no clear guidelines regarding which specialists should be included in a multidisciplinary team. Moreover, many physicians are unwilling to participate in telemedicine, creating a big challenge for hospitals providing these services. Emergency physicians (EPs) have unique experiences in crisis management and can provide a number of effective public health measures. We advocate that EPs should be the first specialists to contact patients in a multidisciplinary team. Currently, there is a lack of literature on this subject, and Taiwan's epidemic control experience is used as an example to prove our viewpoint and provide recommendations for future EPs.