{"id":7918,"date":"2020-03-31T10:42:27","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T16:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/?p=7918"},"modified":"2020-03-31T10:42:28","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T16:42:28","slug":"telemedicine-is-essential-amid-the-covid-19-crisis-and-after-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/?p=7918","title":{"rendered":"Telemedicine is essential amid the covid-19 crisis and after it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Topol<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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What about the features of a visit to a doctor that seemingly can\u2019t be done at a distance, such as the physical exam? Today\u2019s stethoscope is gradually being replaced\u2014like everything else\u2014by the smartphone. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The microphone can be used by patients to do remote self-examinations, using an algorithm to <\/span>analyse the cough<\/a> <\/span>and get a sense of whether a person has pneumonia. A \u201csmart\u201d thermometer used in America has <\/span>accurately detected flu outbreaks<\/a> <\/span>and preliminary data suggest it predicted a covid-19 outbreak in Florida by spotting a rise in users\u2019 body temperatures at a time atypical for the flu.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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A decade ago fitness-trackers merely counted steps; today they measure heart rates and the latest Apple Watch can generate an ECG similar to a single-lead electrocardiogram. Similarly, the use of an inexpensive plaster (or \u201cBand-Aid\u201d) with sensors that continuously capture heart rate, coughs, breathing rate and body temperature can be used for remote surveillance of patients who do not require admission to a hospital. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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As we collect and share these data, clever processing and artificial intelligence enable new findings to improve health. At Scripps Research, we recently published a <\/span>study of over 47,000 people<\/a> <\/span>that showed that data from smartwatches on a resting heart-rate (which typically increases before abnormal body temperature or fever) predicted the onset of flu-like illnesses in geographic clusters as well as, or better than, established means. We just launched a large <\/span>smartwatch research study<\/a> <\/span>in America to determine whether the same can be achieved for predicting clusters of the covid-19 outbreak. That could help promote precision quarantines, better containment and eventually, if a treatment becomes available, its use at the earliest possible time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eric Topol: What about the features of a visit to a doctor that seemingly can\u2019t be done at a distance, such as the physical exam? Today\u2019s stethoscope is gradually being replaced\u2014like everything else\u2014by the smartphone.  The microphone can be used by patients to do remote self-examinations, using an algorithm to analyse the cough and get a sense […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7918"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7919,"href":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7918\/revisions\/7919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}