Telemedicine in COVID-۱۹ Patients. A Systematic Review

Introduction: COVID-۱۹ is a global public health crisis, overburdening healthcare systems and forcing rapidadoption of telemedicine strategies. Telemedicine refers to the use of information and communication technologyand allows Clinicians to provide health services without direct contact when social distancing is necessary. This studyaimed to systematically review and categorize research studies on telemedicine in patients with COVID-۱۹Methods: In October ۲۰۲۳, a systematic review was conducted by searching PubMed, ISI (Web of Sciences), andScopus databases using a specific search query. The authors followed PRISMA guidelines for selecting journalarticles, and they used various keywords such as telehealth, telemedicine, telecare, telenursing, and Covid ۱۹ for thesearch process.Two reviewers independently performed study selection and data extraction, with disagreements resolved by a thirdreviewer. The required data was manually extracted and collected using an Excel spreadsheet for further analysis.The inclusion criteria were full-text articles written in English and original research studies. We excluded articlesthat did not describe the use of telemedicine in COVID-۱۹ cases, protocol studies, conference abstracts, case reports,commentaries, editorials, and reviews.Results: A total of ۱۲۶ studies were initially identified. Following a review of the title, abstract, and full texts, fortyonestudies met the inclusion criteria. Various types of telemedicine have been implemented such as web-basedsoftware platforms, mobile apps, telephone, telemonitoring with remote monitoring devices such as wearable devices,Navigator Program, cloud-based medical image sharing, videoconference programs (Skyroom, Zoom), telediagnosissoftware’s, artificial intelligence, and remote monitoring with a feature of the handheld ultrasound probe, called“teleguidance”, and clinical dashboard. Also, telemedicine is used in teleconsultation, telepsychiatry, telemonitoring,telehealth as a virtual visit, tele-psychotherapy, Telerehabilitation, and pharmacy. Implementing telemedicine canreduce hospitalization, workload on specialists, and in-person visits. It can also help manage COVID-۱۹ patients inresource-scarce areas and improve quality of life.Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that telemedicine is an effective tool for triaging, testing, treating, andremotely monitoring patients with COVID-۱۹. It provides essential healthcare while minimizing the risk of diseasetransmission among healthcare workers, patients, and their families. Using Telemedicine allows patients to receivecare without visiting healthcare facilities, thereby reducing physical contact and the need for personal protectiveequipment.