Impact of Postoperative Telemedicine Visit vs In-person Visit on Patient Satisfaction During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center58 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of this clinical study is to evaluate whether remote video/audio postoperative visits (telemedicine visits) affects patient satisfaction compared to in-person visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. If the primary objective of the study is achieved, it would allow better understanding of how telemedicine can be integrated into modern surgical practice to take care of postoperative patients.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Covid19 Satisfaction, Patient Telemedicine

Interventions

Telemedicine visitBEHAVIORAL

A postoperative visit with the patient's surgeon conducted remotely via audio/video smartphone app

In-person postoperative visitBEHAVIORAL

A standard-of-care in-person postoperatively visit with the patient's surgeon

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 100 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Patients over 18 years of age inclusive at the time of the study who underwent colorectal surgery and are presenting for their first postoperative visit 2. Patients with a computer or phone device with video and audio capabilities Exclusion Criteria: 1. Children \<18 years of age 2. Patients with mental disability 3. Patients without a computer or phone device with video and audio capabilities 4. Patients who require physical intervention during their first postoperative visit (e.g. drain removal, suture removal, staple removal) 5. Patients who are readmitted to the hospital prior to their first postoperative visit will be excluded.

Locations (1)

Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Los Angeles, California, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Patient satisfaction

Patient satisfaction score measured by electronic survey sent to all participating patients after their first postoperative visit

Time frame: 7 to 14 days postoperatively

Secondary Outcomes

Patient-reported rating of safety

Patient-reported sense of safety score rated from 1 to 5 with higher scores indicating greater sense of safety. This is designed to gauge how safe patients feel visiting the clinic in-person vs. online via telemedicine during the COVID pandemic

Time frame: 7 to 14 days postoperatively

Length of visit

Length of postoperative visit

Time frame: 7 to 14 days postoperatively

Patient willingness to recommend provider to peers rated from 1 to 5

Time frame: 7 to 14 days postoperatively

Combined patient satisfaction score from 1st and 2nd postoperative visits

Time frame: 7 to 31 days postoperatively

Distance (in kilometers) of patient's primary residence to the clinic location

Time frame: 7 to 31 days postoperatively

60-day rate of hospital readmission

Incidence of hospital readmission 60 days postoperatively

Time frame: 60 days postoperatively

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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