Conclusions
The first wave of COVID-19 brought to rheumatology nursing consultation a global increase in all activities in the number of visits per day, in the number of stable patient controls, in monitoring and answering patient concerns.
Material and methods
Descriptive and observational study in 254 patients before and in 251 during the pandemic outbreak.
Methods
Descriptive and observational study in 254 patients before and in 251 during the pandemic outbreak.
Objective
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought major changes to the model of patient care in Rheumatology. Our aim was to compare the change in the care delivered in a rheumatology nursing consultation before and during the pandemic. Material and
Results
The type of scheduled face-to-face visit decreased during COVID-19 (46.5% vs. 1.6%), with the number of scheduled telephone visits increasing (2.8% vs. 52.2%) and spontaneous consultations over the phone or email (28.3% vs. 45%). The functions performed in the programmed ones were the stable patient control (20% vs. 37%) and management (12% vs. 38%). The reason for spontaneous consultation increased during COVID-19, especially doubts regarding prevention measures and treatment optimization (13.8% vs. 31.1%). Conclusions: The first wave of COVID-19 brought to rheumatology nursing consultation a global increase in all activities in the number of visits per day, in the number of stable patient controls, in monitoring and answering patient concerns.