Implementing telemedicine in urogynecology: A feasibility study

Autor: Débora Vianna D’Almeida Lucas Macharet, Leonardo Nogueira Mendes, Glaucia Miranda Varella Pereira, Marilene Vale de Castro Monteiro
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Urogynecology Journal.
ISSN: 1433-3023
0937-3462
DOI: 10.1007/s00192-022-05392-2
Popis: Telemedicine has been recommended for the management of urogynecological conditions during the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of telemedicine for urogynecology at a Brazilian public hospital.A descriptive observational study was performed at a urogynecology outpatient clinic. The primary outcome was the desire to continue with telemedicine. Secondary outcomes were appointment resolvability, technical aspects of the appointment, and patient satisfaction. The participants had in-person appointments that were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data on sociodemographic characteristics and clinical and technical aspects of the appointments. The participants responded to satisfaction questionnaires 7-15 days post-procedure. The categorical variables were evaluated based on absolute and relative frequency. The continuous variables were described as the mean and standard deviation. A chi-square test was performed to determine the association between variables.In total, 225 patients had appointments canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, of which 171 were eligible for the study. Telemedicine appointments were agreed upon by 48% of the participants and 85.5% responded to the satisfaction survey. We found that 57.7% of the participants desired to continue with telemedicine. The appointment resolvability rate was 76.1%, 63.4% of the appointments met the technical criteria, and the satisfaction rate was 93%. The only variable associated with the desire to continue telemedicine was overall patient satisfaction (p=0.02).Telemedicine in urogynecology is feasible and can be implemented in the studied population. However, actions are essential to adequately support patient preference and improve the acceptance of telemedicine.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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