Asian Journal of Orthopaedic Research

The orthopaedic clinics and departments during the COVID pandemic have endured a phase of uncertainty. The healthcare provider and recipient have been affected alike. Surgeons have faced innumerable challenges in providing adequate support and guidance to recipient for an effective orthopaedic management.

The traditional orthopaedic outpatient clinics are a lively entity. The patient presents with varied degrees of debilitation associated with either an injury or a pathological disease entity. The outpatient presentation includes disablement aggravated due to old age, degenerative disease process or an unresolved painful joint pathology. Routinely, clinics have high occupancy and are crowded with distressed disabled patients. The recipients have profound need for assistance in clinics due to either the temporary disablement or permanent disability during their outpatient management and care.

Teleconsultation has emerged as a safer and viable option for maintaining doctor-patient communication and providing solutions to their medical problems. The positive impact on the health care functioning has been undeniable. The good has been associated with bad and ugly aspects related to teleconsultation or telemedicine for both the healthcare provider and the recipient. The positive impact of an easy availability for a healthcare guidance is over-shadowed by the negative aspect involving the legal issues in its usage with additional vulnerability for abuse and misuse of available data during a teleconsultation. They are important factors for advocating telehealth in future.

The surgeon’s need to follow the established guidelines for both the regular and virtual outpatient clinic. The orthopaedic surgeon’s awareness of the nuances of teleconsultation will empower them to practice safe and effective management. The focus should remain to provide the patient-centric services for the well-being of the recipient.