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. 2020 Apr 15;6(2):e18811.
doi: 10.2196/18811.

Interpreting COVID-19 and Virtual Care Trends: Cohort Study

Saif Khairat  1 , Chenlu Meng  2 , Yuxuan Xu  2 , Barbara Edson  3 , Robert Gianforcaro  3
Affiliations

Interpreting COVID-19 and Virtual Care Trends: Cohort Study

Saif Khairat et al. JMIR Public Health Surveill. .

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is rapidly spreading across the world. As of March 26, 2020, there are more than 500,000 cases and more than 25,000 deaths related to COVID-19, and the numbers are increasing by the hour.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the trends in confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Carolina, and to understand patterns in virtual visits related to symptoms of COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study of confirmed COVID-19 cases and patients using an on-demand, statewide virtual urgent care center. We collected data from February 1, 2020, to March 15, 2020. Institutional Review Board exemption was obtained prior to the study.

Results: As of March, 18 2020, there were 92 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 733 total virtual visits. Of the total visits, 257 (35.1%) were related to COVID-19-like symptoms. Of the COVID-19-like visits, the number of females was 178 (69.2%). People in the age groups of 30-39 years (n=67, 26.1%) and 40-49 years (n=64, 24.9%) were half of the total patients. Additionally, approximately 96.9% (n=249) of the COVID-like encounters came from within the state of North Carolina. Our study shows that virtual care can provide efficient triaging in the counties with the highest number of COVID-19 cases. We also confirmed that the largest spread of the disease occurs in areas with a high population density as well as in areas with major airports.

Conclusions: The use of virtual care presents promising potential in the fight against COVID-19. Virtual care is capable of reducing emergency room visits, conserving health care resources, and avoiding the spread of COVID-19 by treating patients remotely. We call for further adoption of virtual care by health systems across the United States and the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; infectious disease; outbreak; pandemic; patterns; public health; trends; virtual care.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mapping of North Carolina confirmed coronavirus disease cases with airport locations.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Time-motion analysis of confirmed coronavirus disease cases from March 3 to March 18, 2020.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Quantification of virtual care visits from February 1 to 28, 2020.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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