IMPACT OF TELEMEDICINE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC – THE EXPERIENCE OF A PRIVATE MEDICAL CENTER IN ROMANIA
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Keywords

Telemedicine, Telehealth, National Health Interview Survey, Pandemic, COVID-19

Abstract

The use of telemedicine has been steadily increasing over the past two decades, with a significant surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents the experience of Romania's largest private healthcare provider, Regina Maria Network, which implemented telemedicine within just 10 days during the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020. Notably, the Romanian Government acted swiftly during the State of Emergency to amend legislation, enabling the use of telehealth. The purpose of this research is to examine the main characteristics of patients who utilized the service, the number of resolved cases, the frequency of in-person referrals, and the impact of telemedicine on the redistribution of medical resources. This study evaluates the experience of the Regina Maria Virtual Clinic from its launch in March 2020 to the end of December 2021, offering a descriptive analysis of data related to patient access, service development, and satisfaction across 394,715 appointments. The majority of consultations (19.27%) were in Occupational Medicine, followed by General Medicine (12.75%) and Internal Medicine (9.27%). The distribution of cases by age and gender shows the highest number of cases among individuals aged 26-45, for both women and men, with the lowest numbers in the 11-18 and over 65 age groups. Patient satisfaction was notably high, with an average rating of 9.48/10. The telemedicine model employed by the Regina Maria Private Network proved effective during a particularly challenging time for the healthcare system. The consistently high number of appointments and strong patient satisfaction underscore the importance of further developing telemedicine services.

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