Cha Elliot D K, Suraci Corey, Petrosky Daniel, Welsh Rebeca, Reynolds Gustin, Scharf Michael, Brutico Joseph, SantaLucia Gabriella, Choi Joseph
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Scranton, PA, USA.
Department of Orthopedics, Guthrie Clinic, Sayre, PA, USA.
Clin Shoulder Elb. 2022 Jun;25(2):106-111. doi: 10.5397/cise.2021.00619. Epub 2022 Apr 15.
The use of telemedicine for postoperative visits is increasing, especially in rural areas. Few studies have investigated its use for arthroscopic shoulder patients. This study aims to evaluate patient satisfaction with telemedicine for postoperative clinic visits following arthroscopic shoulder procedures in a rural setting.
Patients were prospectively enrolled using the following exclusion criteria: <18 years, open procedures, and non-compliance follow-up at 6 weeks postoperatively. All patients completed a 13-question satisfaction survey, while telemedicine patients completed an additional, separate seven-question survey. Patients who switched groups completed a four-question prompt to determine the reasons for switching. Differences between groups were evaluated by either Student t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test.
The study enrolled 32 patients, with five patients following up by telemedicine and 27 in person. Age and distance from clinic were similar between patients who were assigned to the telemedicine group, completed the telemedicine visit, and opted for in-person visits (all p>0.05). Patient satisfaction did not vary significantly based on care by the surgeon, concerns being addressed, thoroughness of visit, overall clinical assessment at a prior visit, and improvements in pain and physical function (all p>0.05). Among patients who opted out of telemedicine visits, the most common reason was a preference to meet in-person but these patients agreed that telemedicine visits are a good idea.
Regardless of type of follow-up, individuals reported similar levels of satisfaction with treatment during the visit and improvements in pain and physical function.
远程医疗在术后随访中的应用正在增加，尤其是在农村地区。很少有研究调查其在肩关节镜手术患者中的应用。本研究旨在评估农村地区肩关节镜手术后患者对远程医疗术后门诊随访的满意度。
前瞻性纳入患者，采用以下排除标准：年龄<18岁、开放性手术、术后6周随访不依从。所有患者完成一份13个问题的满意度调查，而远程医疗患者完成一份单独的7个问题的额外调查。转换组别的患者完成一份4个问题的提示，以确定转换原因。组间差异采用Student t检验或Mann-Whitney U检验进行评估。
本研究纳入32例患者，其中5例通过远程医疗进行随访，27例进行面对面随访。分配到远程医疗组、完成远程医疗随访并选择面对面就诊的患者在年龄和到诊所的距离方面相似（所有p>0.05）。患者满意度在以下方面无显著差异：外科医生的治疗、问题解决情况、就诊的彻底性、之前就诊时的总体临床评估以及疼痛和身体功能的改善（所有p>0.05）。在选择不进行远程医疗就诊的患者中，最常见的原因是更喜欢面对面就诊，但这些患者也认为远程医疗就诊是个好主意。
无论随访类型如何，个体在就诊期间对治疗的满意度以及疼痛和身体功能的改善程度相似。
