Neurosurgical Oncology, Department of Neuro-Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, 12902 USF Magnolia Dr, Tampa,, FL 33612, USA.
Department of Tumor Biology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA.
J Neurooncol. 2022 Nov;160(2):517-525. doi: 10.1007/s11060-022-04173-7. Epub 2022 Nov 11.
Unique challenges exist in the utilization of telemedicine for neurological and surgical specialties. We examined the differences in patient satisfaction for telemedicine versus in-person visits within a Neuro-Oncology Program to assess whether there was a difference between surgical and medical specialties. We also examined the potential cost savings benefits of utilizing telemedicine.
1189 Press Ganey surveys in the Department of Neuro-Oncology (982 in-person and 207 telemedicine) by surgical and medical neuro-oncology patients between 04/01/2020 and 06/30/2021 were reviewed. Survey results were divided into 4 categories (Access, Provider, Technology (telemedicine only), and Overall Satisfaction). Results were analyzed for the impact of telemedicine versus in-person visits, and gender, age, insurance, and specialty. Cost savings were calculated based on potential travel distance and lost productivity.
Survey results from telemedicine visits demonstrated that patients with private insurance returned higher scores in the Provider (p = 0.0089), Technology (p = 0.00187), and Overall (p = 0.00382) categories. Surgical patients returned higher scores for Access (p = 0.0015), Technology (p = 0.0002), and Overall (p = 0.0019). When comparing telemedicine to in-person scores, in-person scored higher in Provider (p = 0.0092) for all patients, while in-person scored higher in Access (p = 0.0252) amongst surgical patients. Cost analysis revealed that telemedicine allowed patients to save an average of 4.1 to 5.6 h per visit time and a potential cost savings of up to $223.3 ± 171.4.
Telemedicine yields equivalent patient satisfaction when employed in surgical as compared to medical Neuro-Oncology patients with the potential to lessen the financial and time burden on neuro-oncology patients.
在神经科和外科等专业领域，远程医疗的应用存在独特的挑战。我们研究了神经肿瘤学项目中远程医疗与面对面就诊的患者满意度差异，以评估外科和内科专业之间是否存在差异。我们还研究了利用远程医疗的潜在成本节约效益。
对 2020 年 4 月 1 日至 2021 年 6 月 30 日期间神经肿瘤科的 1189 名接受外科和内科神经肿瘤学治疗的患者进行了调查（982 名面对面就诊，207 名远程医疗就诊）。将调查结果分为 4 类（可及性、医生、技术（仅远程医疗）和总体满意度）。分析了远程医疗与面对面就诊、性别、年龄、保险和专业的影响。根据潜在的旅行距离和生产力损失计算了成本节约。
远程医疗就诊的调查结果显示，私人保险患者在医生（p=0.0089）、技术（p=0.00187）和总体满意度（p=0.00382）方面的评分更高。外科患者在可及性（p=0.0015）、技术（p=0.0002）和总体满意度（p=0.0019）方面的评分更高。将远程医疗与面对面就诊进行比较时，所有患者的面对面就诊在医生方面的评分更高（p=0.0092），而外科患者的面对面就诊在可及性方面的评分更高（p=0.0252）。成本分析显示，远程医疗使患者每次就诊可节省 4.1 至 5.6 小时，潜在成本节约可达 223.3 至 171.4 美元。
与内科神经肿瘤学患者相比，外科神经肿瘤学患者使用远程医疗可获得同等的患者满意度，并有潜力减轻神经肿瘤学患者的经济和时间负担。
