College of Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
College of Medicine, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, USA.
Work. 2024;79(3):1589-1600. doi: 10.3233/WOR-230529.
Telemedicine has seen increasing adoption in healthcare over the past two decades, with proven clinical efficacy in several medical specialties. Orthopedics surgery has shown potential benefits from telemedicine implementation.
This review aims to evaluate the impact of telemedicine on clinical outcomes and patient and physician preferences in foot and ankle orthopedics, providing insight into the potential role of telemedicine within this subspecialty.
Multiple databases were searched for relevant articles on telemedicine in foot and ankle orthopedics. Inclusion criteria encompassed articles on telemedicine use and foot and ankle orthopedic care. Data included patient demographics, reasons for visits, duration of telemedicine, and outcomes. Analysis involved descriptive statistics, and a narrative approach to describe outcomes.
Out of 218 articles, 12 met the inclusion criteria, comprising a total of 1,535 patients. Telemedicine visits were used for follow-up care, opinion consultations, monitoring, postoperative care, and treatment of various orthopedic conditions. Clinical outcomes demonstrated equivalence to in-person care. Patients expressed satisfaction with telemedicine but preferred in-person visits for future appointments. Physicians held neutral attitudes towards telemedicine, with concerns about the lack of physical examination.
This review highlights the benefits of telemedicine in foot and ankle orthopedics. Telemedicine provides an alternative to in-person visits, improving patient access to care and offering cost and time savings. However, patient and physician preferences for in-person visits suggest a need to address concerns related to physical examination limitations. Telemedicine can supplement traditional care, but further research is required to explore its applicability in new patient consultations and optimize physician engagement.
在过去的二十年中，远程医疗在医疗保健领域的应用日益增多，在多个医学专业中已被证明具有临床疗效。骨科手术已经显示出实施远程医疗的潜在益处。
本综述旨在评估远程医疗在足踝骨科临床结果和患者及医生偏好中的影响，深入了解远程医疗在该亚专科中的潜在作用。
在多个数据库中搜索有关足踝骨科远程医疗的相关文章。纳入标准包括远程医疗使用和足踝骨科护理的文章。数据包括患者人口统计学资料、就诊原因、远程医疗持续时间和结果。分析包括描述性统计和描述性方法来描述结果。
在 218 篇文章中，有 12 篇符合纳入标准，共纳入 1535 例患者。远程医疗就诊用于随访、意见咨询、监测、术后护理和治疗各种骨科疾病。临床结果与面对面就诊相当。患者对远程医疗表示满意，但更倾向于未来预约面对面就诊。医生对远程医疗持中立态度，对缺乏体格检查表示担忧。
本综述强调了远程医疗在足踝骨科中的益处。远程医疗为患者提供了一种替代面对面就诊的方式，改善了患者的就诊机会，并节省了成本和时间。然而，患者和医生对面对面就诊的偏好表明，需要解决与体格检查局限性相关的问题。远程医疗可以补充传统护理，但需要进一步研究以探索其在新患者咨询中的适用性，并优化医生的参与度。
