Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 31, 2025

A Novel Digital Platform for a Monitored Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Published on: April 19, 2019
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon a universal electronic consultation program (e-consultation) between general
P Mazón-Ramos1, A Román-Rego1, B Díaz-Fernández1
1Servicio de Cardiología, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red-Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain.
Background And Objective:
Virtual healthcare models, usually between healthcare professionals and patients, have developed strongly during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but there are no data corresponding to models between clinicians. An analysis was made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon the activity and health outcomes of the universal e-consultation program for patient referrals between primary care physicians and the Cardiology Department in our healthcare area.
Methods:
Patients with at least one e-consultation between 2018 and 2021 were selected. We analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon activity and waiting time for care, hospitalizations and mortality, taking as reference the consultations carried out during 2018.
Results:
A total of 25,121 patients were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis showed a shorter delay in care and resolution of the e-consultation without the need for face-to-face care to be associated to a better prognosis. The COVID-19 pandemic periods (2019-2020 and 2020-2021) were not associated to poorer health outcomes compared to 2018.
Conclusions:
The results of our study show a significant reduction in e-consultation referrals during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a subsequent recovery in the demand for care, and without the pandemic periods being associated to poorer outcomes. The reduction in time elapsed for resolving the e-consultations and no need for face-to-face visits were associated to improved outcomes.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Coronary Artery Disease V: Interprofessional Care
Cardiomyopathy V: Interprofessional Care
Acute Coronary Syndrome IV: Interprofessional Care
Rheumatic Heart Disease III: Medical Management
Myocarditis III: Medical Management
Coronary Artery Disease IV: Preventive Measures

