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Communication tools in the COVID-19 era and beyond which can optimise professional practice and patient care
  1. Keiran David Clement1,2,
  2. Eleanor F Zimmermann1,3,
  3. Nikita R Bhatt1,4,
  4. Alexander Light1,5,
  5. Chuanyu Gao1,6,
  6. Meghana Kulkarni1,7,
  7. Joseph M Norris1,8,
  8. Kevin M J Gallagher1,9,
  9. William A Cambridge1,10,
  10. Taimur T Shah1,11,
  11. Hari L Ratan12,
  12. Daron Smith13,
  13. Veeru Kasivisvanathan1,8
  1. 1BURST Research Collaborative, BURST (British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training) Research Collaborative, London, UK
  2. 2Department of Urology, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, UK
  3. 3Department of Urology, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, Torquay, UK
  4. 4Department of Urology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, King's Lynn, UK
  5. 5Department of Urology, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bedford, UK
  6. 6Department of Urology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
  7. 7Department of Urology, Guy's and Saint Thomas' Hospitals NHS Trust, London, UK
  8. 8UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, UK
  9. 9Department of Urology, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK
  10. 10University of Edinburgh Medical School, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh, UK
  11. 11Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
  12. 12Department of Urology, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK
  13. 13Department of Urology, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Keiran David Clement, Department of Urology, University Hospital Monklands, Airdrie ML6 0JS, Scotland, UK; keiranclement{at}nhs.net

Abstract

Following the outbreak of the novel SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), the World Health Organization made a number of recommendations regarding the utilisation of healthcare services. In general, there has been a reduction in elective healthcare services including outpatient clinics, diagnostic services and elective surgery. Inevitably these reductions for all but the most urgent clinical work will have a detrimental impact on patients, and alternative ways of working including the use of telemedicine may help to mitigate this. Similarly, electronic solutions may enable clinicians to maintain inter and intra-professional working in both clinical and academic settings. Implementation of electronic solutions to minimise direct patient contact will be new to many clinicians, and the sheer number of software solutions available and varying functionality may be overwhelming to anyone unfamiliar with ‘virtual communication’. In this article, we will aim to summarise the variety of electronic communication platforms and tools available for clinicians and patients, detailing their utility, pros and cons, and some 'tips and tricks' from our experience through our work as an international research collaborative.

  • clinical decision-making
  • health services administration
  • health services research

This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ’s website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained.

https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usage

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjinnov-2020-000465

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors The BURST Research Collaborative comprises members and contributors around the world. Members use a number of communication tools to deliver high-quality international research projects, with face-to-face meetings only occurring on average twice a year. HLR and DS are clinicians using other similar electronic platforms for both teaching and patient consultation use in the current climate. DS and VK conceived the initial idea for the article. KDC led the article writing in collaboration with all other authors. All authors critically revised the article and approved the final draft. KDC is the corresponding author and VK is the guarantor.

    • Funding VK is an Academic Clinical Lecturer funded by the United Kingdom National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). JMN is a Doctoral Fellow funded by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council (MRC).

    • Disclaimer The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data availability statement Data sharing is not applicable as no data sets were generated and/or analysed for this study. This is a review piece and as such there are no data sets available.