- Title
- Patient perceptions of surgical telehealth consultations during the COVID 19 pandemic in Australia: Lessons for future implementation
- Creator
- Wiadji, Elvina; Mackenzie, Lisa; Reeder, Patrick; Gani, Jonathan S.; Ahmadi, Sima; Carroll, Rosemary; Smith, Stephen; Frydenberg, Mark; O'Neill, Christine J.
- Relation
- ANZ Journal of Surgery Vol. 91, Issue 9, p. 1662-1667
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ans.17020
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Introduction: Prior studies of telehealth report high levels of patient satisfaction, but within carefully selected clinical scenarios. The COVID-19 pandemic led to telehealth replacing face-to-face care for many surgical consultations across a variety of situations. More evidence is needed regarding patient perceptions of telehealth in surgery, in particular, exploring barriers and facilitators associated with its sustained implementation beyond the pandemic. Methods: Survey invitations were emailed to a convenience sample of surgical patients by their surgeon following a telehealth consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Surgeons were recruited from a sample (n = 683) who completed a survey on telehealth (distributed via email to all Australian Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons). Mixed methods analysis was performed of the patient survey data. Results: A total of 1166 consultations were captured: 50% routine reviews, 17% initial appointments and 20% post-operative reviews. Video-link was used in 49% of consultations. The majority of patients (94%), were satisfied with the quality of their surgical telehealth consultation and 75% felt it delivered the same level of care as face-to-face encounters. Telehealth was convenient to use (96%) and led to cost savings for 60% of patients. When asked about future appointment preferences after the pandemic, 41% indicated they would prefer telehealth (24% video-link and 17% telephone) over face-to-face appointments. There was a perception by patients that telehealth consultation fees should be less than face-to-face consultation fees. Conclusion: Patient satisfaction with surgical telehealth consultations is high. Barriers to more widespread implementation include financial, clinical appropriateness, technical and confidentiality concerns.
- Subject
- telemedicine; surgery; telehealth; COVID-19; SDG 3; Sustainable Development Goals
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1477712
- Identifier
- uon:50019
- Identifier
- ISSN:1445-1433
- Language
- eng
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