Outpatient Visits Versus Telehealth for Postoperative Care After Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (Telehealth RCT)

Outpatient Visits Versus Telehealth for Postoperative Care After Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Telehealth, or telemedicine, utilizes technology to deliver clinical care remotely, either in real time or asynchronously, between clinician and patient. Telemedicine has been successfully implemented to increase healthcare delivery for patients in rural areas with otherwise long travel times, and studies have also determined that telemedicine can increase patient satisfaction scores while simultaneously decreasing direct and indirect costs for patients.

Previous scholarship has demonstrated that telemedicine can be a safe alternative to face-to-face postoperative visits for surgical patients, streamlining recovery with no significant delays in the diagnosis of surgical complications. As healthcare systems continue to emphasize value-based care, it is important to assess whether virtual postoperative visits effectively meet patient needs while optimizing resource utilization.

Patient-reported outcomes and satisfaction surveys can help identify potential gaps in care and ensure that telehealth is implemented in a way to maximize both efficiency and quality. Our primary objective is to determine whether patient satisfaction with postoperative telehealth follow-up is non-inferior to in-person clinic visits.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: to Determine Whether Patient Satisfaction With Postoperative Telehealth Follow-up is Non-inferior to In-person Clinic Visits

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Josef Jackson, MD; Phone Number: 773-834-0598; Email: josef.jackson@uchicagomedicine.org
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Sumeyra Agambayev, MS; Email: sumeyra.agambayev@bsd.uchicago.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637
      • University of Chicago
      • Contact: Sumeyra Agambayev, MS; Phone Number: 773-834-9425; Email: sagambay@uchicago.edu
    • Hinsdale, Illinois, United States, 60521
      • UChicago Medicine Advent Hinsdale
      • Principal Investigator: Laura Douglass, MD
      • Contact: Josef Jackson, MD; Phone Number: 773-834-0598; Email: josef.jackson@uchicagomedicine.org

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Women over the age of 18 and scheduled for a minimally invasive gynecologic surgery (laparoscopic or robotic surgeries including: excision of endometriosis, adnexal surgery with oophorectomy or cystectomy, myomectomy, or hysterectomy.)

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Participant has provided written informed consent.
2. Women over the age of 18.
3. Ability for patients to complete telehealth visits (i.e. working telephone or internet access) and speak and understand English.
4. Laparoscopic or robotic surgeries including: excision of endometriosis, adnexal surgery with oophorectomy or cystectomy, myomectomy, and hysterectomy.
5. Undergoing minimally invasive gynecologic surgeries with complex pelvic surgeons (AAGL fellowship-trained).

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Conversion to open surgery.
2. Malignancy noted intraoperatively or on final pathology evaluation.
3. Surgeon or patient preference for in person clinic follow up.
4. Pregnancy - pregnancy tests will be completed as part of routine preoperative care on the day of surgery

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
control group; in person clinic visits
experimental group; virtual visits ((telephone or video)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient satisfaction with surgery and postoperative visits	Satisfaction scores will be compiled from participant responses to the Surgical-Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (S-CAHPS) questionnaire. This questionnaire was developed by the American College of Surgeons and includes seven composites: (1) information to help prepare for surgery, (2) surgeon communication preoperatively, (3) surgeon attentiveness on the day of surgery, (4) information to help during recovery, (5) surgeon communication after surgery, (6) qualities of office staff, and (7) an overall surgeon rating. Specific attention will be paid to participant ratings of items 4, 5, and 7.	3 months
Patient satisfaction with virtual care delivery	Satisfaction scores will be compiled from responses to the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (TUQ): a validated tool of 21 questions used to assess patients' and providers' perceptions of telehealth systems. It evaluates domains such as ease of use, interface quality, interaction quality, reliability, and overall satisfaction, providing a structured way to measure and improve telehealth user experience (graded on a 5-point Likert scale).	3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Additional healthcare utilization and adverse events	Patient safety will be gauged by proxy via measurement of additional healthcare utilization by participants during the follow-up interval; specifically, the number of hospital re-admissions, emergency department or urgent care visits, and unscheduled clinic visits. Additionally, incidence of reoperation, blood transfusion, and wound infections will be tracked.	3 months
Incidence of common postoperative outcomes	Clinical outcomes will be evaluated by a standardized institutional postoperative questionnaire which queries patients about common postoperative symptoms including return of bowel function, return of appetite, use of additional pain medications, fevers, and vaginal bleeding.	3 months
Postoperative pain	Pain scores will be tabulated using the Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire 2	3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Chicago
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Laura Douglass, MD, University of Chicago

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): May 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 7, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 11, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): February 19, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 18, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 15, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: hysterectomy; telehealth; myomectomy; laparoscopic surgeries; minimally invasive gynecologic surgery; excision of endometriosis; robotic surgeries; adnexal surgery
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB25-1847

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: No current plan to share data.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No