The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed medical providers to trial telemedicine on a scale that lacks precedent. In genetic medicine, nearly overnight genetics providers were asked to transition to telemedicine platforms, irrespective of their previous experience with these modalities. This push to telegenetics prompted a reappraisal of the practice, as genetics providers learned firsthand about the feasibility, benefits, and drawbacks of telegenetics and telesupervision, all of which raise questions about the potential incorporation of these platforms beyond the pandemic. Adding to nascent literature on the transition to telegenetics amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we aimed to evaluate provider experiences and preferences with respect to telegenetics through qualitative semi-structured interviews with genetics providers. Nineteen providers from seven institutions participated in a semi-structured interview focused on the rapid shift to telegenetics, the benefits and drawbacks of the practice, experiences supervising students on virtual platforms, and providers’ preferences. We employed a qualitative methodology so that providers working across diverse subspecialties could expand upon previously reported benefits and drawbacks. Qualitative data revealed the nuanced benefits of telegenetics which included overcoming geographic, spatial, and temporal barriers to care as well as greater involvement of patients’ family members in sessions. In addition, the data indicated drawbacks related to additional tasks such as completing paperwork electronically and facilitating the collection of specimens from patients’ homes. Interviews with providers from different subspecialties revealed how telegenetics may be uniquely useful for particular subspecialties, patient populations, or clinics for whom the aforementioned barriers are more significant. Providers reported that telesupervision made the provision of feedback to students more cumbersome and identified a number of methods for enriching the telesupervision experience. In keeping with previous research, most genetics providers appraised telegenetics as a valuable addition to patient care (68%, N = 13) and hoped to offer it as an option beyond the pandemic (63%, N = 12).

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从“陡峭的学习曲线”到“一帆风顺”：在 COVID-19 大流行中重新评估远程遗传学

COVID-19 大流行促使医疗服务提供者以前所未有的规模试用远程医疗。在遗传医学领域，几乎一夜之间遗传学提供者被要求过渡到远程医疗平台，无论他们以前在这些模式方面的经验如何。这种对远程遗传学的推动促使人们重新评估了这种做法，因为遗传学提供者直接了解了远程遗传学和远程监督的可行性、好处和缺点，所有这些都引发了关于这些平台在大流行之外的潜在整合的问题。除了在 COVID-19 大流行期间向远程遗传学过渡的新生文献之外，我们的目标是通过与遗传学提供者的定性半结构化访谈来评估提供者在远程遗传学方面的经验和偏好。来自 7 家机构的 19 名提供者参加了半结构化访谈，重点是向远程遗传学的快速转变、实践的优缺点、在虚拟平台上监督学生的经验以及提供者的偏好。我们采用了定性方法，以便跨不同亚专业工作的提供者可以扩展先前报告的优点和缺点。定性数据揭示了远程遗传学的细微差别，包括克服地理、空间和时间障碍，以及患者家属更多地参与治疗。此外，数据表明与其他任务相关的缺陷，例如以电子方式完成文书工作和促进从患者家中收集标本。对来自不同亚专业的提供者的采访揭示了远程遗传学如何对特定亚专业、患者群体或上述障碍更为重要的诊所特别有用。提供者报告说，电视监督使向学生提供反馈变得更加繁琐，并确定了许多丰富电视监督体验的方法。与之前的研究一致，大多数遗传学提供者认为远程遗传学是对患者护理的宝贵补充（68%，提供者报告说，电视监督使向学生提供反馈变得更加繁琐，并确定了许多丰富电视监督体验的方法。与之前的研究一致，大多数遗传学提供者认为远程遗传学是对患者护理的宝贵补充（68%，提供者报告说，电视监督使向学生提供反馈变得更加繁琐，并确定了许多丰富电视监督体验的方法。与之前的研究一致，大多数遗传学提供者认为远程遗传学是对患者护理的宝贵补充（68%，N  = 13）并希望将其作为大流行之外的一种选择（63%，N  = 12）。