Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine

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Original Article
SJEMed. 2021; 2(1): 77-84

Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives

Authors: Abdulraheem Alshareef, Hawazen Balkhair, Arwa Abbas, Maha Rizq, Hani Alhashmi.

View PDF HTML Fulltext DOI: 10.24911/SJEMed/72-1598255990

Abstract

Background: Patients with hematological disorders are among the highly affected patient groups during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate how physicians mitigated patients with hematological disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the impact of the lockdown on hematologists and their recommendations according to their current experience was also assessed. Methods: This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey conducted among 62 hematologists in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic from 6th to 29th June 2020. Results: The most common method of contact between physicians and their patients was the use of actual and virtual clinics and WhatsApp (22.6%). In addition, the most common cases that contacted the physicians were those suffering from hematological malignancies (such as lymphoma and leukemia) (37.1%), followed by sickle cell anemia (17.7%). Interestingly, majority of patients had contacted their physicians for general concerns (41.9%), followed by assurance purposes (35.5%). Furthermore, 53.2% of the physicians were satisfied with the experience of handling patients during curfew. Around 71% of the physicians thought that social media had a positive impact on communication with their patients, which was significantly correlated with male participants and those in the age group of 46-55 years (p-values 0.03 and 0.002, respectively). Conclusion: Telemedicine is one of the most useful solutions utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it needs to be improved and should be used routinely as a part of the healthcare system in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords:   Hematologists, hematological disorders, COVID-19, telemedicine, Saudi Arabia


© Copyright: Author(s)

Open access Creative Commons License
Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives


Authors
Abdulraheem Alshareef
Medical Laboratories Technology Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles

Hawazen Balkhair
Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles

Arwa Abbas
MBBS Candidate, College of Medicine, Al-Rayan Colleges, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles

Maha Rizq
MBBS Candidate, College of Medicine, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles

Hani Alhashmi
Adult Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles


Correspondence to:
. Hani Alhashmi, Adult Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.; hanih.hashmi@kfsh.med.sa

Publication history
Received 24 Aug 2020
Revised 24 Sep 2020
Accepted 28 Oct 2020
Published online 15 Nov 2020
Published in print 21 Jan 2021

How to cite this article

Pubmed Style

Alshareef A, Balkhair H, Abbas A, Rizq M, Alhashmi H. Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives. SJEMed. 2021; 2(1): 77-84. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1598255990


Web Style

Alshareef A, Balkhair H, Abbas A, Rizq M, Alhashmi H. Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives. https://www.sjemed.com/?mno=128138 [Access: March 28, 2023]. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1598255990


AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Alshareef A, Balkhair H, Abbas A, Rizq M, Alhashmi H. Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives. SJEMed. 2021; 2(1): 77-84. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1598255990


Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Alshareef A, Balkhair H, Abbas A, Rizq M, Alhashmi H. Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives. SJEMed. (2021), [cited March 28, 2023]; 2(1): 77-84. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1598255990


Harvard Style

Alshareef, A., Balkhair, . H., Abbas, . A., Rizq, . M. & Alhashmi, . H. (2021) Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives. SJEMed, 2 (1), 77-84. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1598255990


Turabian Style

Alshareef, Abdulraheem, Hawazen Balkhair, Arwa Abbas, Maha Rizq, and Hani Alhashmi. 2021. Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives. Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2 (1), 77-84. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1598255990


Chicago Style

Alshareef, Abdulraheem, Hawazen Balkhair, Arwa Abbas, Maha Rizq, and Hani Alhashmi. "Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives." Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine 2 (2021), 77-84. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1598255990


MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Alshareef, Abdulraheem, Hawazen Balkhair, Arwa Abbas, Maha Rizq, and Hani Alhashmi. "Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives." Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine 2.1 (2021), 77-84. Print. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1598255990


APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Alshareef, A., Balkhair, . H., Abbas, . A., Rizq, . M. & Alhashmi, . H. (2021) Mitigation of patients with hematologicaldisorders during the COVID-19 pandemicthrough telemedicine: the physician’s perspectives. Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2 (1), 77-84. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1598255990


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