Telemedicine for Pediatric Urological Postoperative Care is Safe, Convenient and Economical.
J Urol
; 204(1): 144-148, 2020 07.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31951495
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
We compared virtual visits, ie remote patient encounters, via a live video system, with conventional in-person visits with respect to clinical outcomes, family experience and costs in a pediatric urology surgical population. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
Patients were enrolled in a prospective cohort study comparing postoperative virtual and in-person visits during a 4-month period in 2018. Appointment status and time metrics were tracked. The primary outcome was the safety of virtual visits, assessed by comparing the number of additional in-person visits, emergency department encounters and hospital readmissions. Secondary outcomes included the family assessment of the encounter and associated costs. After each visit families were prompted to complete a survey that assessed missed work/school and direct costs. Opportunity cost was estimated using reported missed work time, average national hourly wage and visit duration.RESULTS:
Overall 107 virtual and 100 in-person postoperative visits were completed. There was no difference in patient characteristics, appointment compliance or clinical outcomes between the cohorts. Travel and waiting for care accounted for 98.4% of the total time spent for an in-person visit. With the virtual visit significantly less work and school were missed by parents and children, respectively. The opportunity costs associated with an in-person visit were computed at $23.75 per minute of face time with a physician, compared to $1.14 for a virtual visit.CONCLUSIONS:
For pediatric postoperative care virtual visits are associated with shorter wait times, decreased missed work and school, and clinical outcomes similar to those of in-person visits. Telemedicine appears to reduce the costs associated with these brief but important encounters.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Cuidados Pós-Operatórios
/
Telemedicina
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Health_economic_evaluation
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Male
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Urol
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article