Telehealth Opportunities in the COVID-19 Pandemic Early Days: What Happened, Did Not Happen, Should Have Happened, and Must Happen in the Near Future?

The objective of this communication is to offer a better understanding of the value of telemedicine in health care, particularly its role in creating opportunities for continuity of care to patients in a complex and novel setting as were the circumstances of the early COVID-19 pandemic times. Crisis time is also a time for opportunities. With regard to telehealth, all players (providers, staff, and patients) should be informed about its benefits and should also become familiar with the use of the various telehealth options and this will only be achieved through large information campaigns necessary enriched by local teaching and training programs in both public and private institutions. The final aim is to launch the debate and foster ideas useful throughout the pandemic. This article covers the experiences of physicians as well as health professionals in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), to provide a clearer idea of what has happened and how we can improve it with the possibilities provided by telemedicine, while at the same time to put in evidence that public health systems need to be rethought to provide solutions to situations such as that we are experiencing.

Chronic respiratory patient control by multivariate charts.

PURPOSE: This article seeks to explain how to monitor the chronic obstructive disease patient and control any complications so that timely treatment can be applied. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Control charts and statistical process control (SPC) theory were used on chronic respiratory patient follow-up and control. Controlling several variables simultaneously, using univariate charts, can be misleading, more so when there are correlated variables, so multivariate and univariate control charts were studied. FINDINGS: One-sided control charts are preferable when the aim is to detect changes in the mean solely in one direction. Thus, one-sided, univariate and multivariate charts were built, which identified previously undetected out-of-control events. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The study's main limitation is its retrospective nature. However, following-up individual patients can highlight medical therapy effects. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The article concludes that control charts, in particular one-sided ones, are a valuable tool for monitoring chronic respiratory patients, thus contributing to medical decision making. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The article highlights control chart application to chronic respiratory patient follow-up, permitting a global view of patient evolution over time.