key: cord-0889333-773jp1tl
authors: Purcell, Laura N.; Charles, Anthony
title: An Invited Commentary on “Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on surgical practice-part 1”. Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on surgical practice: Time to embrace Telehealth in Surgery
date: 2020-05-19
journal: Int J Surg
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2020.05.047
sha: 6cb27994e8d9c71d544891e55bc5583ff52dfcac
doc_id: 889333
cord_uid: 773jp1tl

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to in-office visits in pre-and post-operative periods. [4, 5] While the lack of physical exam limits telehealth, this can be overcome by using video conferencing for consults. Telehealth evaluations provide the unique advantage of allowing a local primary care physician or mid-level to consult the surgeon remotely and perform a supervised physical exam. All preoperative telehealth evaluations should undergo an in-person evaluation by the operative surgeon on the morning of the surgery.

The ability to perform preoperative COVID-19 testing of surgical patients within 48 hours of surgery is mandatory before ramping up surgical services delivery following COVID-19 peaks.

Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on surgical practice -Part 1

Guidance for surgeons working during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19: Elective Case Triage Guidelines for Surgical Care

Telehealth provides a comprehensive approach to the surgical patient

Current use of telemedicine for post-discharge surgical care: a systematic review

While the initial implementation of telehealth practices may be unexpected and rocky, this pandemic could evolve telehealth into a mainstay of many fields of medicine, in particular, surgical pre-and post-operative care. It is time for surgeons to embrace telehealth.Provenance and peer review Invited Commentary, internally reviewed References