The Shoulder Telehealth Assessment Tool in Transition to Distance Orthopedics

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Digital Health
• Patient Assessment

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated the adoption of telehealth in orthopedic surgery.
• Virtual consultations offer advantages but present challenges for effective patient evaluation, particularly for physical examinations.
• A comprehensive shoulder physical examination is difficult to perform remotely.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel technique for conducting a comprehensive shoulder physical examination remotely.
• To present the Shoulder Telehealth Assessment Tool (STAT) for patient-led, pre-visit assessments.
• To facilitate accurate remote patient evaluation in orthopedic telehealth.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Shoulder Telehealth Assessment Tool (STAT), a pictorial guide for patients.
• STAT is designed for completion by patients at home prior to virtual encounters.
• The tool assesses shoulder range of motion, pain (VAS, SANE), and components for the Constant score.

Main Results:

• The STAT provides a structured method for patients to perform a comprehensive shoulder assessment.
• It captures key data points including range of motion and validated pain scores.
• The collected data can be converted to an abbreviated Constant shoulder score.

Conclusions:

• The Shoulder Telehealth Assessment Tool (STAT) offers a viable solution for remote shoulder examination in telehealth.
• This patient-led approach addresses barriers to virtual physical assessments in orthopedics.
• STAT enhances the effectiveness of telehealth for orthopedic patient evaluations.