TELEMEDICINE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ADULT RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY PERSPECTIVE

Buchalter DB, Sicat C, Moses MJ, et al. TELEMEDICINE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ADULT RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY PERSPECTIVE. Orthop Procs. 2020;102-B(SUPP_9):32-32. doi:10.1302/1358-992X.2020.9.032

Buchalter, Daniel B., et al. “TELEMEDICINE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ADULT RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY PERSPECTIVE.” Orthopaedic Proceedings, vol. 102-B, no. SUPP_9, 2020, pp. 32-32., https://doi.org/10.1302/1358-992X.2020.9.032

Buchalter, D. B., Sicat, C., Moses, M. J., Aggarwal, V. K., Hepinstall, M., Lajam, C. M., Schwarzkopf, R., & Slover, J. D. (2020). TELEMEDICINE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ADULT RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY PERSPECTIVE. Orthopaedic Proceedings, 102-B(SUPP_9), 32-32. https://doi.org/10.1302/1358-992X.2020.9.032

Buchalter, D. B., Sicat, C., Moses, M. J., Aggarwal, V. K., Hepinstall, M., Lajam, C. M. et al. (2020) “TELEMEDICINE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ADULT RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY PERSPECTIVE.” Orthopaedic Proceedings, 102-B(SUPP_9), pp. 32-32. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1302/1358-992X.2020.9.032

Buchalter, Daniel B., Chelsea Sicat, Michael J. Moses, Vinay K. Aggarwal, Matthew Hepinstall, Claudette M. Lajam, Ran Schwarzkopf, and James D. Slover. “TELEMEDICINE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ADULT RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY PERSPECTIVE.” Orthopaedic Proceedings 102-B, no. SUPP_9 (2020): 32-32. https://doi.org/10.1302/1358-992X.2020.9.032

Buchalter DB, Sicat C, Moses MJ, Aggarwal VK, Hepinstall M, Lajam CM, et al. TELEMEDICINE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ADULT RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY PERSPECTIVE. Orthop Procs. 2020 Oct 1;102-B(SUPP_9):32-32. https://doi.org/10.1302/1358-992X.2020.9.032

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Abstract

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a swift adoption of telehealth in orthopedic surgery. The purpose of this study was to analyze patient and surgeon satisfaction with a rapid expansion of telehealth use during COVID-19 pandemic within the division of adult reconstructive surgery at a major urban academic hospital.

Methods

334 hip and knee arthroplasty patients who completed a telemedicine visit from March 30th, 2020 through April 30th, 2020 were sent a 14-question survey. Eight adult reconstructive surgeons who used telemedicine were sent a separate 14-question survey at the end of the study period. Factors influencing patient satisfaction were determined using univariate and multivariate ordinal logistic regression modeling.

Results

20.4% of patients (68/334) and 100% of surgeons (8/8) completed the surveys. Patients were on average “Satisfied” with their telemedicine visits (4.10/5.00 ± 0.98), 54.4% considered themselves high-risk for COVID-19 complications, and 27.9% reported that they preferred future visits to be conducted using telemedicine for reasons unrelated to COVID-19. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression modeling revealed that patients reported higher satisfaction if their surgeon effectively responded to their questions/concerns (OR 3.977; 95% CI 1.260 to 13.190, p=0.019) and if their visit had higher audiovisual quality (OR 2.46; 95% CI 1.052 to 6.219, p=0.042). Surgeons were “Satisfied” with their telemedicine experience (3.63/5.00 ± 0.92), felt that physical exams conducted via telemedicine were “Slightly Effective” (1.88/5.00 ± 0.99), and believed that 43.5% of visits required an in-person component. Most adult reconstructive surgeons would continue to use telemedicine in the future (87.5%).

Conclusion

Telehealth emerged as a valuable tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arthroplasty patients and surgeons were generally satisfied with telehealth and see a role for telehealth after the pandemic. Future investigations should explore how to improve telehealth physical examinations and identify which types of visits and patient concerns are reliably addressed using telehealth.