Evaluate the feasibility of teleneurology visits in lieu of in-person visits for adults attending the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Neurology Clinic in Lusaka, Zambia.

Telemedicine increased during the COVID19 pandemic as a safe and feasible alternative to in-person care, but this expansion was primarily limited to high-income countries. Suspension of outpatient clinics at UTH during COVID19 resulted in the urgent need for alternative methods of continuing neurology outpatient care.

Patients scheduled for neurology outpatient appointments in June and July 2020 and those with missed appointments between March and May were called and offered a televisit. If agreeable, neurologists conducted teleneurology visits over the phone, WhatsApp video or Zoom calls, based on patient accessibility. Neurologists then completed post-visit forms documenting visit outcomes. Descriptive statistics based on neurologists’ evaluations are presented.

Of 300 patients, 186 (62%) were reachable by phone, with 38% unreachable due to incorrect or missing contact number or death. Among reachable patients, 81% agreed to a televisit. There was no significant difference in demographics or diagnoses between those who accepted or refused televisits. Most televisits (81%) were completed by telephone call, 12% WhatsApp video call and 7% Zoom call. Neurologists’ self-rated confidence in their assessment was highest for Zoom calls, but still high for telephone and WhatsApp video calls. Televisit outcomes showed 46% of patients managed exclusively via televisit, 24% needed in-person follow-up visits within a few weeks, and 30% were stable with no follow-up needs and were discharged from the clinic. Neurologists further recommended that 60% of patients seen could be seen by televisit at their next follow-up.

Teleneurology visits are a feasible means of service provision for adults attending the UTH neurology clinic. They are a promising replacement to in-person visits even in a low-resourced setting when video-call support is absent.