Surgeon, patient, and caregiver perspective of pediatric surgical telemedicine in the COVID-19 pandemic era

Jose Diaz-Miron, Sarah Ogle, Alex Kaizer, Shannon N Acker, Kyle O Rove, Thomas H Inge, Jose Diaz-Miron, Sarah Ogle, Alex Kaizer, Shannon N Acker, Kyle O Rove, Thomas H Inge

Abstract

Purpose: Adoption of telemedicine (TME) in surgical specialties, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, has previously been slow. The purpose of this prospective, observational, single institution study is to evaluate surgeon and caregiver perspectives of TMEs during the pandemic.

Methods: Surveys were distributed to surgical faculty regarding perceptions of TME early during the pandemic and 2 months later. Caregivers (or patients > 18 years old) were asked after each TME to complete a survey regarding perceptions of TMEs.

Results: Surveys were distributed to 73 surgeons. Response rates were 71% initially and 63% at follow-up. Sixty-eight percent reported no prior TME experience. No significant differences were noted in the overall satisfaction. An inverse relationship between surgeon age and satisfaction at the follow-up survey was identified (p = 0.007). Additional surveys were distributed to 616 caregivers or patients (response rate 13%). Seventy-two percent reported no prior experience with TME and 79% described TME as similar to an in-person visit. Audiovisual satisfaction of the TME was higher in greater income households (p = 0.02).

Conclusions: Pre-pandemic experience with TME was low in both groups; however, experiences were perceived as satisfactory. Positive experiences with TME may encourage increased utilization in the future, although demographic variations may impact satisfaction with TME.

Trial registration: Unique identifier NCT04376710 at Clinicaltrials.gov (5/6/2020).

Keywords: COVID-19; Pediatrics; Surgery; Telemedicine.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Telemedicine visits during initial peak of pandemic. TMEs rapidly following the onset of the pandemic at our institution. TMEs increased from TME telemedicine
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Surgeon satisfaction ratings. Surgeons predominately reported being satisfied or very satisfied at both the initial and follow-up surveys. Data are presented as percent of number of responses for each category
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Caregiver and patient satisfaction ratings. Caregivers and patients predominately reported being very satisfied with TMEs. Data are presented as percent of number of responses for each category. TME telemedicine encounter

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