ArticleBMJ open quality2020
Rapid implementation of virtual clinics due to COVID-19: report and early evaluation of a quality improvement initiative.
Article in BMJ open quality, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 124 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
124 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Text Messaging, Telephone, or In-Person Outpatient Visit to the Surgical Clinic: A Randomized Trial.The Journal of surgical research · 2022Trial
- Remote Consultations Versus Standard Face-to-Face Appointments for Liver Transplant Patients in Routine Hospital Care: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial of myVideoClinic.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Trial
- Article
- Improving Effective Prenatal Care for New Obstetric Patients Using a Standardized Intake Template and Pregnancy Risk Calculator.Global journal on quality and safety in healthcare · 2026Article
- Hybrid Care Modifications in the Delivery of Nonpandemic Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Trends in self-reported headache disorder in Spain between 2006 and 2023: the role of sociodemographic factors.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Patient satisfaction in a new model of nurse- and pharmacist-led virtual monitoring clinic in rheumatology practice.BMC rheumatology · 2026Article
- Telephone follow-up clinics can lead to a reduction in cost and waiting list times without impacting patient care in elective joint injection patients.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- The Rise of Telemedicine in Orthopaedic Trauma Follow-Up Care and Its Long-Term Outcomes: A Narrative Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- Treatment regimens for optimising outcomes in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.Eye (London, England) · 2025Review
- Patient satisfaction in virtual upper-limb orthopaedic clinics: a retrospective review.BMJ open quality · 2025Article
- Primary care physicians' experiences of video and online chat consultations: a qualitative descriptive study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2025Article
- A 6-Year Retrospective Study in Surgery Patients with Thyroid Diseases in Mureș County, Romania, Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Twenty-Five Years of Evolution and Hurdles in Electronic Health Records and Interoperability in Medical Research: Comprehensive Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Review
- Use of Remote Consultations by Chiropractors in the United Kingdom During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Journal of chiropractic medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Patient and carer perceptions of video, telephone and in-person clinics for Phenylketonuria (PKU).Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2024Article
64 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 outbreak has placed the National Health Service under significant strain. Social distancing measures were introduced in the UK in March 2020 and virtual consultations (via telephone or video call) were identified as a potential alternative to face-to-face consultations at this time. LOCAL PROBLEM: The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) sees on average 11 200 face-to-face consultations a month. On average 7% of these are delivered virtually via telephone. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the RNOH set a target of reducing face-to-face consultations to 20% of all outpatient attendances. This report outlines a quality improvement initiative to rapidly implement virtual consultations at the RNOH.
methodsThe COVID-19 Action Team, a multidisciplinary group of healthcare professionals, was assembled to support the implementation of virtual clinics. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement approach to quality improvement was followed using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle. A process of enablement, process redesign, delivery support and evaluation were carried out, underpinned by Improvement principles.
resultsFollowing the target of 80% virtual consultations being set, 87% of consultations were delivered virtually during the first 6 weeks. Satisfaction scores were high for virtual consultations (90/100 for patients and 78/100 for clinicians); however, outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, video consultations would be preferred less than 50% of the time. Information to support the future redesign of outpatient services was collected.
conclusionsThis report demonstrates that virtual consultations can be rapidly implemented in response to COVID-19 and that they are largely acceptable. Further initiatives are required to support clinically appropriate and acceptable virtual consultations beyond COVID-19. REGISTRATION: This project was submitted to the RNOH's Project Evaluation Panel and was classified as a service evaluation on 12 March 2020 (ref: SE20.09).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.