Abstract
Purpose :
Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, is a centre of excellence for ophthalmic research, education and patient care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical students' clinical education exposure and patients' multidisciplinary care were greatly affected.
Telepresence robots have been suggested as a solution to reduce the impact of COVID-19.
We present the results of a trial used to evaluate the capabilities of a telepresence robot in improving clinical education for undergraduate medical students, and the possibility to deliver multidisciplinary clinical patient care via a telepresence robot.
Methods :
In a two-day trial period, the telepresence robot was used in four tasks: 1) to livestream an adnexal surgery to students off-site; 2) autonomously navigating patients from clinic to pharmacy; 3) by a clinician to remotely review patients with an ophthalmologist who was consulting the patient face to face; 4) and to deliver a teaching session to medical students.
Feedback was gathered using a questionnaire and in a group discussion together with clinicians, patients, students, robot specialists and IT specialists.
Results :
15 patients of a wide age range and 5 medical students were surveyed. The vast majority of both groups were unaware of telepresence robots. The mean rating given by both groups was 6/10 (with a range of 1-10/10 and 3-8/10) respectively. The groups praised the innovation, felt it could support clinical pressures, and improve their involvement. However, there were concerns about impersonality and technical limitations, and each offered ideas for improvements. All students felt there was potential to improve medical education using the robot. Qualitative feedback during the group discussion highlighted the importance of adapting the currently available hardware and software to enhance its use in education and patient care.
Conclusions :
This trial provided a greater understanding into the practicalities of incorporating a telepresence robot, in its current form, to clinical medical care and education. While there are challenges with the technical specification of the telepresence robot, the proposition of using such a device has drawn positive engagement from students, patients and clinicians thus validating further research.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.