Implementing telemedicine for the management of benign urologic conditions: a single centre experience in Italy

Purpose To assess the use of telemedicine with phone-call visits as a practical tool to follow-up with patients affected by urological benign diseases, whose clinic visits had been cancelled during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Patients were contacted via phone-call and a specific questionnaire was administered to evaluate the health status of these patients and to identify those who needed an in-person ambulatory visit due to the worsening of their condition. Secondarily, the patients' perception of a potential shift towards a telemedicine approach to the management of their condition and to indirectly evaluate their desire to return to in-person clinic visits. Results 607 were contacted by phone-call. 87.5% (531/607) of the cases showed stability of the symptoms so no clinic in-person or emergency visits were needed. 81.5% (495/607) of patients were more concerned about the risk of contagion than their urological condition. The median score for phone visit comprehensibility and ease of communication of exams was 5/5; whilst patients' perception of phone visits' usefulness was scored 4/5. 53% (322/607) of the interviewees didn't own the basic supports required to be able to perform a real telemedicine consult according to the required standards. Conclusion Telemedicine approach limits the number of unnecessary accesses to medical facilities and represents an important tool for the limitation of the risk of transmission of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. However, infrastructures, health workers and patients should reach out to a computerization process to allow a wider diffusion of more advanced forms of telemedicine, such as televisit.

Automated summary

Telemedicine with phone-call visits can be a practical tool to follow-up with patients affected by urological benign diseases, especially during times like the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessing patients' health status through phone calls can help identify those who need in-person ambulatory visits by evaluating their symptoms and concerns about contagion risk. Patients generally found phone visits comprehensible and useful, but there are challenges regarding access to necessary technology for more advanced forms of telemedicine.