Facilitating Virtual Visitation in Critical Care Units During a Pandemic.

Presence of support persons enhances patient and family satisfaction. The introduction of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted hospital operations and has reduced visitation. A virtual visitation program was implemented in critical care units to replicate visitation by video chat to ease stress on patients and family members to improve communication.

Overview of the 84th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society　- Change Practice!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 84thAnnual Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS) was held in a web-based format for the first time in its history as "The Week for JCS 2020" from Monday, July 27 to Sunday, August 2, 2020. All sessions, including general abstracts, were streamed live or on-demand. The main theme of the meeting was "Change Practice!" and the aim was to organize the latest findings in the field of cardiovascular medicine and discuss how to change practice. The total number of registered attendees was over 16,800, far exceeding our expectations, and many of the sessions were viewed by far more people than at conventional face-to-face scientific meetings. At this conference, the power of online information dissemination was fully demonstrated, and the evolution of online academic meetings will be a direction that cannot be reversed in the future. The meeting was completed with great success, and we express our heartfelt gratitude to all affiliates for their enormous amount of work, cooperation, and support.

How real is a virtual interview? Perspectives of orthopaedic surgery residency directors.

OBJECTIVE: As a result of COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 US residency MATCH was devoid of the traditional in-person interviews. Herein, we assess the impact of Virtual Interviews (VIs) on resident selection, from the perspectives of Orthopedic Surgery (OS) Program Directors (PDs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 14-item survey was sent to PDs of ACGME-accredited OS residencies. Questions were designed to assess the pros, cons, and robustness of VIs compared to their antecedent in-person format. RESULTS: Forty-seven PDs responded to our survey. VIs antagonized PDs' ability to assess applicants' fit to program (76.6%), commitment to specialty (64%), and interpersonal skills (68.1%). This led to heavier dependence upon applicants' portfolios (64%). Almost all respondents (97.9%) found VIs to be more cost-efficient, saving a median of $3000 in interview-related expenses. Overall, only 8.5% of PDs were willing to conduct exclusive VIs in future cycles, compared to the majority in favor of dual formats (51.5%) or exclusive in-person interviews (40.4%). CONCLUSIONS: VIs have been an overall success, making most PDs opt for dual interview formats in future cycles. How this technology is further implemented in the future remains to be seen.

Virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: a turning point in neurosurgical education.

OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused dramatic changes in medical education. Social distancing policies have resulted in the rapid adoption of virtual learning (VL) by neurosurgeons as a method to exchange knowledge, but it has been met with variable acceptance. The authors surveyed neurosurgeons from around the world regarding their opinions about VL and how they see the future of neurosurgical conferences. METHODS: The authors conducted a global online survey assessing the experience of neurosurgeons and trainees with VL activities. They also questioned respondents about how they see the future of on-site conferences and scientific meetings. They analyzed responses against demographic data, regions in which the respondents practice, and socioeconomic factors by using frequency histograms and multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: Eight hundred ninety-one responses from 96 countries were received. There has been an increase in VL activities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most respondents perceive this type of learning as positive. Respondents from lower-income nations and regions such as Europe and Central Asia were more receptive to these changes and wanted to see further movement of educational activities (conferences and scientific meetings) into a VL format. The latter desire may be driven by financial savings from not traveling. Most queried neurosurgeons indicated that virtual events are likely to partially replace on-site events. CONCLUSIONS: The pandemic has improved perceptions of VL, and despite its limitations, VL has been well received by the majority of neurosurgeons. Lower-income nations in particular are embracing this technology. VL is still evolving, but its integration with traditional in-person meetings seems inevitable.

Employee voice behavior as a critical factor for organizational sustainability in the telecommunications industry.

Organizational effectiveness is contingent upon employees' contributions; however, the role of employee voice behavior as a critical component of employees' contribution to the organization has not been sufficiently acknowledged. Based on proactive behavior theory, we present a model to investigate employee voice behavior as an underlying mechanism in the relationship between supervisor delegation and perceived workplace inclusion. Using the SEM (structural equation modeling) method, we test our model's hypotheses with data from 271 employee-supervisor questionnaires administered in state-owned enterprises in the telecommunications industry. The results show that supervisor delegation is positively related to employees' promotive and prohibitive voice behavior. Promotive voice significantly influences perceived workplace inclusion, but prohibitive voice behavior was not found to have any impact on perceived workplace inclusion. Moreover, both dimensions of voice behavior, i.e., promotive and prohibitive voice behavior, significantly mediate the relationship between supervisor delegation and perceived workplace inclusion.

Hands down, COVID-19 will change medical practice.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has challenged us to incorporate technology into engaging, interacting with, and caring for patients, using televisits and video conferencing in ways that have previously been resisted or derided.

Lessons of COVID-19: Virtual conferences.

COVID-19 abruptly halted scientific conferences and seminars in mid-March, forcing the scientific community to either postpone or adapt to a virtual format. We caught up with Carla V. Rothlin, Elina I. Zúñiga, Hongbo Chi, Rino Rappuoli, and Matthew Krummel to find out about the pros and cons of virtual conferences and seminars and how these could change the nature of scientific conferences. Carla (CVR) and Elina (EIZ) established Global ImmunoTalks in April this year; Hongbo (HC) helped organize the Immunometabolism Mini-Symposia series in May and June; Rino (RR) was one of the scientific organizers of the Transforming Vaccinology Keystone, which moved to a virtual format in June; and Matthew (MK) has been organizing Eco Seminars at the University of California, San Francisco since 2019.

Leveraging telecommuting pharmacists in the post-COVID-19 world.

In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many industries, including pharmacy, rapidly expanded the use of telecommuting workers to assure business continuity and address social distancing needs. Advances in electronic health records and telepharmacy over the past 2 decades enabled pharmacy leaders to easily adapt their practice models to allow for telecommuting alternatives during the pandemic. While these changes were generally intended to be part of the short-term response, the sustained expansion of telecommuting within the pharmacy profession merits further exploration. Documented experience with telepharmacy and telehealth indicate a wide array of clinical and operational pharmacist activities that could be conducted by telecommuters. In addition, experience with telecommuters in other industries suggests potential benefits ranging from improving pharmacists' work-life balance to mitigating postpandemic financial burden. Health care organizations should consider integrating part-time telecommuter pharmacists into contemporary practice models to address other frontline issues and facilitate ongoing expansion of clinical pharmacy services to meet emerging patient needs.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Effects on Cancer Care, Both Good and Bad.

Now that the world has been dealing with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for several months, we have learned so much. Some of the modifications we have made have been "good" and will hopefully help oncology care, education, and research going forward. Here are some of the issues and changes that the pandemic engendered.

Traditional and Virtual Congress Meetings During the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Post-COVID-19 Era: Is it Time to Change the Paradigm?

The speed and reach of the COVID-19 pandemic have forced rapid changes in how we conduct medical practice and research. The rapid evolution in how scientific meetings are conducted may have long-term benefits. A new reality in which technology and sociality are merged may offer a more engaging and adaptable scientific congress experience with more flexible and dynamic use of content modulated to the needs of each attendee.

Posibilidades y limitaciones de la tele-estomatología / Possibilities and limitations of teledentistry

ABSTRACT Dental care is considered to be an example of complex manual interventions in the medical sector. The vision presented describes the organization of dental care based on the application of modern telecommunication technologies. In developed countries, general dental practitioners have a positive attitude toward incorporating teledentistry into their practice. In PubMed there is a tendency to increase the states by telehealth key words and tags, including teledentistry. Those health care tendencies show a steady trend toward the broadening of teledentistry services(AU)

RESUMEN El cuidado dental se considera un ejemplo de intervenciones manuales complejas en la industria médica. La visión presentada describe la organización de la atención dental basada en la aplicación de las modernas tecnologías de telecomunicación. En los países avanzados, los odontólogos generales tienen una actitud positiva ante la idea de introducir la teledentistería en su práctica. En PubMed hay una tendencia a aumentar los estados por las palabras clave y las etiquetas de la telesalud, incluida la teledentistería. Esas tendencias en materia de atención de la salud muestran una tendencia constante a la ampliación de los servicios de teledentistería(AU)

Patient Satisfaction With Geriatric Psychiatry Services via Video Teleconference.

OBJECTIVE: The objective for the current study is to examine patient satisfaction with geropsychiatry services provided via video telehealth. METHODS: Participants included community-dwelling older Veterans receiving geriatric psychiatry services via telehealth across regions of the Pacific Northwest and Southwestern United States. Participants completed a paper-based survey examining satisfaction with services following the completion of two medication management visits with a geropsychiatrist. RESULTS: The majority of participants (90%) reported liking or even preferring geriatric telepsychiatry, despite the experience being novel for the majority of patients. Eighty-three percent of participants reported that receiving telegeropsychiatry services was the same (n = 30) or better (n = 3) than being seen in-person. Participants saved an average of 168 driving miles (means and standard deviations = 59.2; range 2-480) each visit. CONCLUSION: The findings of the current study suggest that older adults accept and are broadly satisfied with telegeropsychiatry services. This modality of care increased access to specialty care and decreased travel hardship.

Recomendaciones para la comunicación de malas noticias por teléfono durante la pandemia por SARS-CoV-2 / Recommendations for communicating bad news by phone during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic / Recomendações para a comunicação de más notícias por telefone durante a pandemia do SARS-CoV-2

RESUMEN La pandemia actual por SARS-CoV-2 presenta desafíos específicos para los profesionales de salud en el campo de la atención sanitaria. En este contexto de emergencia, la comunicación de malas noticias toma especial relevancia por el modo particular en que debe llevarse a cabo: la necesidad de mantener distanciamiento sanitario y las restricciones de movilidad impuestas a la población general hacen que esta tarea deba ser realizada, muchas veces, de manera remota, en su mayoría mediante llamados telefónicos. Esto enfrenta a los profesionales a una serie de obstáculos particulares: a) la mayoría de ellos poseen escasa o nula formación sobre esta clase de habilidades comunicativas, b) la comunicación efectiva de malas noticias depende, en gran parte, del lenguaje corporal utilizado, ausente en este tipo de intercambios, y c) dado que este tipo de diálogo remoto no es recomendable -con excepción de circunstancias particulares como la actual- existe escasa literatura disponible para guiar a quienes deben cumplir esta tarea. Este manuscrito ofrece recomendaciones sobre pautas básicas para la comunicación remota de malas noticias por teléfono, en situaciones en las cuales no se pueda llevar a cabo esta tarea de forma presencial. Se presenta una propuesta estructurada en torno de cuatro "momentos" para orientar la transmisión de malas noticias a distancia, con el fin de mejorar los cuidados a pacientes, familiares y cuidadores durante este intercambio y también reducir el impacto negativo que este intercambio tiene sobre los profesionales de la salud.(AU)

ABSTRACT The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic presents specific challenges for health professionals in the healthcare setting. In this emergency context, the communication of bad news is especially relevant because of the particular way it must be done: the need to maintain social distance or mobility restrictions imposed on the general population means that this task must often be carried out remotely, mostly by telephone calls. This confronts professionals with a number of particular obstacles: a) most of them have little or no training in this kind of communication skills, b) effective communication of bad news largely depends on body language, which is absent in this type of exchange, and c) since this type of remote dialogue is not recommended — except in particular circumstances such as the current ones — there is little literature available to guide the professionals who must carry out this task. This manuscript offers recommendations for remote communication of bad news by telephone, applicable to situations in which this task cannot be carried out in person. A proposal structured around four "moments" is presented to guide the remote transmission of bad news in order to improve the care of patients, families and caregivers during this exchange and to reduce the negative impact from it on health professionals.(AU)

RESUMO A actual pandemia do SARS-CoV-2 apresenta desafios específicos para os profissionais de saúde na área da saúde. Neste contexto de emergência, a comunicação de más notícias é particularmente relevante devido à forma específica como deve ser feita: a necessidade de manter a distância social ou as restrições de mobilidade impostas à população em geral implica que esta tarefa seja frequentemente realizada à distância, sobretudo através de chamadas telefónicas. Isto confronta os profissionais com uma série de obstáculos particulares: a) a maioria deles tem pouca ou nenhuma formação neste tipo de competências de comunicação, b) a comunicação eficaz de más notícias depende, em grande medida, da linguagem corporal utilizada, que está ausente neste tipo de intercâmbio, e c) como este tipo de diálogo à distância não é recomendado - excepto em circunstâncias particulares como a actual - há pouca literatura disponível para orientar aqueles que devem realizar esta tarefa. Este manuscrito oferece recomendações sobre a comunicação à distância de más notícias por telefone para situações em que esta tarefa não pode ser realizada pessoalmente. É apresentada uma proposta estruturada em torno de quatro "momentos" para orientar a transmissão de más notícias à distância, a fim de melhorar os cuidados prestados aos doentes, às famílias e aos prestadores de cuidados durante este intercâmbio e também para reduzir o impacto negativo que este intercâmbio tem sobre os profissionais de saúde.(AU)