Organization of a reference haemophilia unit and its change of activity during the COVID‐19 pandemic

The first national guidelines for the prevention of occupational hazard against the novel coronavirus were issued by the Ministry of Health on March 5, establishing a series of preventive measures which included reducing face‐to‐face visits and on‐site staff, limiting exposure at workplaces such as...

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Published in:Haemophilia : the official journal of the World Federation of Hemophilia 2021-07, Vol.27 (4), p.e473-e475
Main Authors: Martinez Garcia, Maria Fernanda, Benitez Hidalgo, Olga, Alvarez Martinez, Eva, Juarez Gimenez, Juan‐Carlos, Fernandez Sarmiento, Carmen, Suito Alcantara, Milagros, Soto Bonet, Nuria, Cardona Lopez, Raquel, Iacoboni Garcia‐Calvo, Gloria, Gironella Mesa, Mercedes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
COVID-19
Hemophilia
Letter to the Editor
Letters to the Editor
Pandemics
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Summary:The first national guidelines for the prevention of occupational hazard against the novel coronavirus were issued by the Ministry of Health on March 5, establishing a series of preventive measures which included reducing face‐to‐face visits and on‐site staff, limiting exposure at workplaces such as hospitals.5 At Vall d´Hebron Hospital in Barcelona, the first protocol regarding COVID‐19 was issued on March 11, the same day that schools and other educational centres were closed down in the city. [...]of the new COVID‐19 contingency plan at the HU, we observed a 38% increase in tele‐visits performed by the haematology team in comparison with the previous year (371 vs 470). The shipments involved a total of 460 phone calls (Over 400% more than the period before) between the hospital pharmacy team and nurse team with the patients, to ensure package delivery as well as for the treatment adherence recall. The pandemic has changed the management of patients with chronic diseases such as bleeding disorders, increasing the use of telemedicine tools to ease the healthcare system.7, 8 This includes a variety of technologies to ensure remote medical attention such as live audio and video calls, e‐portals or other type of messaging technologies, remote patient‐monitoring tools (For example the Haemoassist® App which we have been using in our unit for many years now) and store‐and‐forward technologies that collect images and data to be transmitted at a later time.8, 9 In our centre, before and during the pandemic, the telemedicine tools available were only phone calls and e‐diaries.
ISSN:1351-8216
1365-2516
DOI:10.1111/hae.14160