Business as usual during the COVID-19 pandemic? Reflections on state-wide trends in maternity telehealth consultations during lockdown in Victoria and New South Wales

Stephanie Potenza; Melvin Barrientos Marzan; Daniel Lorber Rolnik; Kirsten Palmer; Joanne Said; Clare Whitehead; Penelope Sheehan; Ben W Mol; Susan Walker; Lisa Hui

doi:10.1111/ajo.13438

Business as usual during the COVID-19 pandemic? Reflections on state-wide trends in maternity telehealth consultations during lockdown in Victoria and New South Wales

Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2021 Dec;61(6):982-985. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13438. Epub 2021 Oct 5.

Authors

Stephanie Potenza¹, Melvin Barrientos Marzan², Daniel Lorber Rolnik^{3

4}, Kirsten Palmer^{3

4}, Joanne Said^{2

5}, Clare Whitehead^{2

6}, Penelope Sheehan^{2

7}, Ben W Mol^{3

4}, Susan Walker^{1

2}, Lisa Hui^{1

2

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Mercy Hospital for Women, Mercy Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ Joan Kirner Women's & Children's, Sunshine Hospital, Western Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁶ Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁷ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Eastern Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁸ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Northern Hospital, Northern Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁹ Reproductive Epidemiology Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Abstract

COVID-19 has resulted in unprecedented changes to maternity care across Australia. This study aims to analyse trends in maternity consultations and the uptake of telehealth in Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) since the first restrictions to reduce COVID-19 transmission were implemented. From March 2020 to April 2021, a higher proportion of antenatal care consultations was delivered via telehealth in Victoria compared to NSW (13.8% vs 7.4%, P < 0.0001). Uptake of telehealth and a shift from in-person care has been a major contributor to maintaining pregnancy care during pandemic restrictions. However, further research is required to understand women's perspectives and health outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19; antenatal; maternity; obstetrics; telemedicine.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Communicable Disease Control
Female
Humans
Maternal Health Services*
New South Wales
Pandemics
Pregnancy
Referral and Consultation
SARS-CoV-2
Telemedicine*
Victoria

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding