Innovations in the Plastic Surgery Care Pathway: Using Telemedicine for Clinical Efficiency and Patient Satisfaction.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare technology
• Quality improvement methodologies
• Patient outcomes

Background:

• Telemedicine facilitates remote clinical communication, addressing challenges of distance and missed work for postoperative patients.
• Implementing telehealth aims to optimize efficiency and enhance patient satisfaction in postoperative care.
• Postoperative visits often involve significant patient travel and time away from work.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a telehealth workflow for postoperative patient visits.
• To assess patient satisfaction with remote postoperative care.
• To optimize efficiency and patient experience using quality improvement methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized quality improvement methods, including Lean Six Sigma, to design a postoperative telehealth workflow.
• Enrolled 72 patients for the telehealth study.
• Administered preoperative surveys on technology comfort and telehealth interest, and postoperative surveys on satisfaction.

Main Results:

• Preoperative surveys indicated a majority preference (73%) for in-person visits.
• Postoperative surveys revealed high patient satisfaction (nearly 100%) with the telehealth experience.
• 96% of patients reported their questions were answered, and 97% would use telehealth again.

Conclusions:

• Telehealth encounters facilitate real-time clinical decision-making and reduce patient transportation needs and wait times.
• Despite initial hesitancy, most patients expressed high satisfaction with postoperative telehealth visits.
• The study demonstrates the effectiveness of telehealth in improving patient experience and access to care.