Telehealth for general surgery postoperative care.
Am J Surg
; 229: 156-161, 2024 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38158263
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Telehealth utilization rapidly increased following the pandemic. However, it is not widely used in the Veteran surgical population. We sought to evaluate postoperative telehealth in patients undergoing general surgery.METHODS:
Retrospective review of Veterans undergoing general surgery at a level 1A VA Medical Center from June 2019 to September 2021. Exclusions were concomitant procedure(s), discharge with drains or non-absorbable sutures/staples, complication prior to discharge or pathology positive for malignancy.RESULTS:
1075 patients underwent qualifying procedures, 124 (12 â%) were excluded and 162 (17 â%) did not have follow-up. 443 (56 â%) patients followed-up in-person (56 â%) vs 346 (44 â%) via telehealth. Telehealth patients had a lower rate of complications, 6 â% vs 12 â%, p â= â0.013. There were no significant differences in ED visits, 30-day readmission, postoperative procedures or missed adverse events.CONCLUSION:
Telehealth follow-up after general surgical procedures is safe and effective. Postoperative telehealth care should be considered after low-risk general surgery procedures.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Alta do Paciente
/
Telemedicina
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Am J Surg
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article