P2542 (S1225). - The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Gastroenterology (GI) Outpatient Care: Pros and Cons of Telehealthcare

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Presenting Author(s)

Kavitha Vijayasekar

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Emlhurst) Hospital
Elmhurst, NY

Kavitha Vijayasekar, MD¹, Mannat Saini, MD¹, Ahmed AL-Khazraji, MD¹, Moiz Ahmed, MD², Bhanu Singh, MD¹, Umer Syed, MD², Yasar Sattar, MD¹, Hiba Rauf, MD³, Shifra Baum, MHS¹, Rupa Sharma, MD², Raghav Bansal, MD², Joel Baum, MD¹, Joshua Aron, MD², Aaron Walfish, MD¹, Krishna Gurram, MD²; ¹Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Emlhurst) Hospital, Elmhurst, NY; ²Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Elmhurst) Hospital, Elmhurst, NY; ³American Society of Clinical Oncology, Elmhurst, NY

Introduction:

COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the world with more than 1 million cases, and 110,000 deaths as of June 2020. This pandemic impacted our healthcare system by all angles including outpatient care. Telehealth was extensively utilized. We conducted a study to assess the impact of Telehealth during the COVID-19 Pandemic on patient care

Methods:

A retrospective analysis of outpatient gastroenterology (GI) visits were conducted. General demographic information, labs, imaging, interpreter use, duration visit, medications, endoscopic procedures were collected. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA software V.16

Results:

In a total sample size of 151 patients, the mean age was 51±13.5 years with 74 males and 77 females. The majority of the patients were Hispanics (n=101), followed by Asians (n=33), White (n=10) and African American (n=7). 26% patients were unable to reach (n=26), 1% died of COVID19 (n=3). The mean duration of telehealth conversation was 20 minutes. The most common diagnosis of GI visit were dyspepsia (n=42), followed by cirrhosis (n=15), IBD (n=11), PUD (n=9), dysphagia (n=8) and GI bleeding (n=7). The patients received various drug treatments based on their clinical condition including PPI (n=31); H2-blockers (n=8); 5-ASA (n=7); diuretics (n=6); Biologic therapy (n=5); beta-blockers (n=5); lactulose (n=3); and rifaximin (n=3). 6 patients were unable to get the refill of their medications and 8 patients were afraid to get the refill (Figure-1). 34% patients missed blood work for their follow-up (n=51) and 15% patients had delay in getting imaging as diagnostic and screening (n=23). 59 patients needed to have procedures, 3% urgent (n=4), 9% time essential (n=14), and 26% required routine screening (n=40) (Figure 2). Lastly, there was 3 patients who had confirmed COVID19 and required hospitalization with good recovery

Discussion:

Despite a dramatic shift in the outpatient care to telehealth medicine, many clinicians expect future roles in telehealth. There are many barriers to outpatient care especially in this pandemic, summarized by a delay in getting blood work, medications and fear of approaching hospitals for medication refill

Figure 1: Showing the impact of COVID-19 on Diagnosis and Management of GI

Figure 2: Showing the acuity and type of GI procedures affected by the COVID19

Disclosures:
Kavitha Vijayasekar indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Mannat Saini indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Ahmed AL-Khazraji indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Moiz Ahmed indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Bhanu Singh indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Umer Syed indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Yasar Sattar indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Hiba Rauf indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Shifra Baum indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Rupa Sharma indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Raghav Bansal indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Joel Baum indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Joshua Aron indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Aaron Walfish indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Krishna Gurram indicated no relevant financial relationships.