Editorial - (2020) Volume 17, Issue 5
1Polish Society of Telemedicine and eHealth, Warsaw, Poland
2Center of Excellence "TeleOrto" for Telediagnostics and Treatment of Disorders and Injuries of the Locomotor System, Department of Medical Informatics and Telemedicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Received Date: August 22, 2020; Accepted Date: August 24, 2020; Published Date: August 31, 2020
DOI: 10.36648/2049-5471.17.5.213
The COVID-19 pandemic placed the telemedicine as the recommended approach to personal protection. The necessary protection in orthopedics and traumatology includes personal protection equipment (PPE) and a recommendation to reduce personal contacts. Planned and trauma patients can be preconsulted with the help of telemedicine solutions and ICT. The objective of this systematic review was to examine the use of telemedicine in orthopedics. The primary purpose of this study is to review and present current evidence of what kind of technologies and what kind of orthopedic problems are elaborated using telemedicine in orthopedics, including orthopedic trauma and spine surgery. PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and Web of Science were searched covering the period from 2000 to march 2020. Peer-reviewed English studies were included if they delivered information about the telemedicine use in orthopedics. The patient-orthopedic surgeon communication via telemedicine was considered in particular. The Pubmed database identified a total of 551 papers. Seven papers were confirmed as containing required data by the inclusion criteria. Studies concerning the orthopaedic treatment of patients with orthopedic injuries and disorders and also patient to orthopedic surgeon communication are published relatively rarely. Telemedicine may not become a substitute for the regular practice in orthopedics. However, it may deliver a significant contribution to improving services for orthopedic patients using telemedicine solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
