Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Research Fellow Kyle Paul published “COVID-19 Impact on Orthopedic Surgeons: Elective Procedures, Telehealth, and Income” in the Southern Medical Journal.

Paul and authors wanted to further understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on orthopedic organizations, so they distributed a survey via REDCap through state orthopedic organizations between April and July 2020.

The 22-question digital survey collected information regarding restrictions on elective procedures, location of care, utilization of telehealth, and estimated reductions in annual income. The study noted that 192 participants responded, and responses primarily originated from Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri.

Authors concluded that most practices did implement restrictions for elective clinic visits and procedures early during the pandemic. They conjectured that COVID-19 will result in a large revenue loss for elective orthopedic practices, and that services such as telehealth may help offset these losses and help deliver orthopedic care to patients remotely.

“Of course, we had a good idea that COVID-19 would impact all medical organizations, but we wanted to learn more about the impact on orthopedics, specifically,” said Paul. “We found that orthopedic practices that can implement services, such as telehealth, are better equipped to offset costs during the pandemic.”

The complete list of authors includes:

• Kyle Paul, research fellow
• Eli Levitt, research fellow
• Gerald McGwin, Jr., Ph.D., professor of epidemiology
• Eugene Brabston, M.D., assistant professor
• Shawn Gilbert, M.D., executive vice chair
• Brent Ponce, former professor
• Amit Momaya, M.D., section chief of sports medicine

To read the entire study, click here.