The use of telemedicine in pre-surgical evaluation: a retrospective cohort study of a neurosurgical oncology practice.
J Neurooncol
; 159(3): 621-626, 2022 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35900618
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
To determine if there was a discrepancy between telemedicine versus in-person New Patient Visits (NPVs) regarding the conversion rate to operative and radiosurgery cases at a tertiary surgical neuro-oncology practice.METHODS:
A retrospective analysis was performed of patients who had an outpatient encounter with a neurosurgeon from the Tumor Division at our institution's Department of Neurosurgery between February 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021. NPVs during this period were registered as either telemedicine or in-person appointments. The primary endpoint of the study was to compare the rate at which telemedicine NPVs and in-person NPVs underwent surgery or radiosurgery, reported as the surgical conversion rate.RESULTS:
A total of 206 patients were included in this study. Of them, 119 (57.8%) were seen using telemedicine and 87 (42.2%) were seen in clinic via an in-person visit. A total of 70 (34%) of all patients underwent surgery or radiosurgery. Of the 119 patients seen via telemedicine, 40 (33.6%) underwent surgery or radiosurgery; during the same period, 87 NPVs were conducted in person and 30 (34.5%, p = 1.0) received an intervention. Further stratification revealed no differences between the two groups across measured criteria including diagnosis, number of pre-operative visits, elapsed time from appointment to surgery, follow-up visits, and distance from home address to neurosurgical clinic.CONCLUSION:
Telemedicine NPVs did not differ significantly from in-person NPVs when evaluating the likelihood of a new patient committing to surgical treatment. This study provides quantifiable evidence that telemedicine is an effective means of meeting new patients and planning complex neurosurgical interventions.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Telemedicina
/
Neurocirurgia
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Evaluation_studies
/
Observational_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Neurooncol
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos