%0 Journal Article
%@ 2369-2960
%I JMIR Publications
%V 6
%N 2
%P e18811
%T Interpreting COVID-19 and Virtual Care Trends: Cohort Study
%A Khairat,Saif
%A Meng,Chenlu
%A Xu,Yuxuan
%A Edson,Barbara
%A Gianforcaro,Robert
%+ School or Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 428 Carrington Hall, NC, NC, 27514, United States, 1 9198435416, saif@unc.edu
%K virtual care
%K COVID-19
%K trends
%K patterns
%K pandemic
%K outbreak
%K infectious disease
%K public health
%D 2020
%7 15.4.2020
%9 Original Paper
%J JMIR Public Health Surveill
%G English
%X Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is rapidly spreading across the world. As of March 26, 2020, there are more than 500,000 cases and more than 25,000 deaths related to COVID-19, and the numbers are increasing by the hour. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the trends in confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Carolina, and to understand patterns in virtual visits related to symptoms of COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a cohort study of confirmed COVID-19 cases and patients using an on-demand, statewide virtual urgent care center. We collected data from February 1, 2020, to March 15, 2020. Institutional Review Board exemption was obtained prior to the study. Results: As of March, 18 2020, there were 92 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 733 total virtual visits. Of the total visits, 257 (35.1%) were related to COVID-19-like symptoms. Of the COVID-19-like visits, the number of females was 178 (69.2%). People in the age groups of 30-39 years (n=67, 26.1%) and 40-49 years (n=64, 24.9%) were half of the total patients. Additionally, approximately 96.9% (n=249) of the COVID-like encounters came from within the state of North Carolina. Our study shows that virtual care can provide efficient triaging in the counties with the highest number of COVID-19 cases. We also confirmed that the largest spread of the disease occurs in areas with a high population density as well as in areas with major airports. Conclusions: The use of virtual care presents promising potential in the fight against COVID-19. Virtual care is capable of reducing emergency room visits, conserving health care resources, and avoiding the spread of COVID-19 by treating patients remotely. We call for further adoption of virtual care by health systems across the United States and the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
%M 32252023
%R 10.2196/18811
%U http://publichealth.jmir.org/2020/2/e18811/
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/18811
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32252023