Telemedicine virtual visits provide a convenient alternative to traditional in-office visits for paediatric spinal deformity patients, according to a new study.
The authors of Utilization of Telemedicine Virtual Visits in paediatric Spinal Deformity Patients, published in the Journal of paediatric Orthopaedics, evaluated the feasibility and patient satisfaction associated with virtual visit utilisation in paediatric spinal deformity patients in comparison to general paediatric orthopaedic indications.
Of the 482 virtual visits offered to paediatric orthopaedic patients at a large academic healthcare system between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018, a total of 189 conducted by board-certified orthopaedic surgeons were included in the final analysis.
Although paediatric spinal deformity patients were older, mostly female, and had longer visits versus their general paediatric orthopaedic counterparts, they demonstrated similarly high satisfaction scores for surgeon performance and overall satisfaction, according to the study.
Approximately 80% of all visits were conducted over mobile devices. Wait time was substantially less relative to subsequent office visits.
In conclusion, the authors wrote: “Our analysis found that telemedicine virtual visits provided a convenient alternative to traditional in-office visits for paediatric spinal deformity patients. Specifically, we found that paediatric spinal deformity patients received faster care with comparable satisfaction.”
“The findings of our present analysis should encourage health care systems to continually evaluate and implement telehealth platforms to improve both the accessibility and appropriate quality of care.”
