Digital Health Technology for Remote Care in Primary Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience from Dubai.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: We aimed to provide an insight on the feasibility and impact of telemedicine use among primary health care (PHC) providers and on nonurgent health care delivery during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: This observational study was conducted using telemedicine data from Dubai Health Authority from January 2020 to July 2021. Results: Of 123,944 individuals who booked an appointment for the telemedicine service, 106,408 (86%) showed up. Most patients were 19-59 years old, UAE nationals, female, and having government insurance. The telemedicine care volume grew from 188 visits in January 2020 to 11,757 in April 2020. The most common diagnosis was general health consultation (55,672; 52%), followed by COVID-19-related consultation (18,523; 17%) and laboratory test requests (11,064; 10%). Around 4,997 (5%) telemedicine consultations were for a medication refill. A multiple linear regression model predicting the types of diagnosis-related telemedicine needs by age and the interaction of gender and nationality was statistically significant for dermatology (p = 0.0000), respiratory (p = 0.0000), and cardiovascular (p = 0.0000) diseases. Conclusions: Virtual care services in PHC clinics have been highly successful in meeting the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine has enabled clinicians to continue providing care to patients while maintaining the necessary public health measures adopted in the fight against COVID-19. However, will the switch to telemedicine be sustainable in the long term and what will be the level and degree of telemedicine adoption beyond COVID-19? This requires more studies to explore how the PHC organizations will provide further support and guidance on the suitability of telemedicine in various circumstances and clinical conditions.