학술논문

Evaluating Efficiency of a Provincial Telerehabilitation Service in Improving Access to Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Document Type
article
Source
International Journal of Telerehabilitation, Vol 15, Iss 1 (2023)
Subject
artificial intelligence
call utilization
machine learning
qualitative description
Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics
R858-859.7
Language
English
ISSN
1945-2020
Abstract
Scope: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, community rehabilitation stakeholders from a provincial health system designed a novel telerehabilitation service. The service provided wayfinding and self-management advice to individuals with musculoskeletal concerns, neurological conditions, or post-COVID-19 recovery needs. This study evaluated the efficiency of the service in improving access to care. Methodology: We used multiple methods including secondary data analyses of call metrics, narrative analyses of clinical notes using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and qualitative interviews. Conclusions: Interviews revealed that the telerehabilitation service had the potential to positively impact access to rehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic, for individuals living rurally, and for individuals on wait lists. Call metric analyses revealed that efficiency may be enhanced if call handling time was reduced. AI/ML analyses found that pain was the most frequently-mentioned keyword in clinical notes, suggesting an area for additional telerehabilitation resources to ensure efficiency.