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We read with interest the letter by Bozzalla Cassione et al 1 about the role of telemedicine in their clinic during COVID-19 time. Telemedicine represents a useful tool not only in regions with limited access to healthcare2 but also in different settings like quarantine, when healthcare personnel became essential.
Since the Italian National lockdown decision3 and the WHO announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic,4 enormous demand to handle the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection disease challenged the Italian healthcare system. Indeed, in the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli (FPG) Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) in Rome, the delegated taskforce (Gemelli against COVID-19) gradually opened 14 COVID-19 dedicated wards, in accordance to the progressive increase of serious cases. Concomitantly, several clinics were remodulated to optimise the staff use and to avoid patient exposure to the hospital environment.
The Division of Rheumatology of the FPG-IRCCS is a high-flux rheumatological centre, with almost 16 000 visits performed in the last year for chronic inflammatory arthritis (38%), connective tissue diseases (CTDs) (34%) and other rheumatic diseases (27%) (ie, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia) from all Italian regions. Before the spread of COVID-19, our rheumatology service was organised to …
Footnotes
Contributors SP, SA and EG were involved in the design of the study. SP and EG wrote the manuscript with support from SA. As the corresponding author, EG had full access to the data and takes responsibility for the accuracy of the integrity of data. All authors were involved in collecting the data, approved the final version of the letter after being involved in drafting and revising the article for important intellectual content.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, conduct, reporting or dissemination plans of this research.
Patient consent for publication Not required.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.