Telemedicine will not keep us apart in COVID 19 pandemic

We read with interest the letter by Bozzalla Cassione et al 1 about the role of telemedicine in their clinic during COVID-19 time. Telemedicine represents a useful tool not only in regions with limited access to healthcare2 but also in different settings like quarantine, when healthcare personnel became essential.\n\nSince the Italian National lockdown decision3 and the WHO announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic,4 enormous demand to handle the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection disease challenged the Italian healthcare system. Indeed, in the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli (FPG) Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) in Rome, the delegated taskforce (Gemelli against COVID-19) gradually opened 14 COVID-19 dedicated wards, in accordance to the progressive increase of serious cases. Concomitantly, several clinics were remodulated to optimise the staff use and to avoid patient exposure to the hospital environment.\n\nThe Division of Rheumatology of the FPG-IRCCS is a high-flux rheumatological centre, with almost 16 000 visits performed in the last year for chronic inflammatory arthritis (38%), connective tissue diseases (CTDs) (34%) and other rheumatic diseases (27%) (ie, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia) from all Italian regions. Before the spread of COVID-19, our rheumatology service was organised to …