Telemedicine for pediatric orthopedic visits: evaluating usability and satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to evaluate usability and patient satisfaction with telemedicine in pediatric orthopedics using validated questionnaires and to identify demographic and clinical factors that may impact these ratings. All caregivers of patients who had telemedicine visits with a single fellowship-trained pediatric orthopedic surgeon between 23 March 2020 and 3 June 2020 were eligible to participate. Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ) and the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (TUQ) rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = poor, 2 = fair, 3 = good and 4 = excellent) were used. Additional information regarding the level of education, mode of transportation, technology usage, demographics, visit diagnosis and length of visit were collected. Quantitative analysis was performed. A total of 68.6% (83/121) of the visits were done via telemedicine. Around 46 surveys were completed with a response rate of 55.4% (46/83). The PSQ mean score was 3.63 ± 0.39 with non-English-speaking caregivers scoring lower compared to their English-speaking counterparts (3.4 ± 0.47 vs. 3.72 ± 0.33; P = 0.017). PSQ mean score increased with increasing length of visit (r = 0.352; P = 0.018). A total of 86.8% (839/966) of all TUQ's responses were good to excellent with 89.1% (41/46) of responders were satisfied with telemedicine and 91.3% (42/46) would use it again. Although the topic is an evolving one, and a lot of changes should be expected in the future, certain characteristics such as primary language and length of visit may affect the levels of satisfaction with the use of telemedicine in pediatric orthopedics. Knowledge regarding satisfaction ratings may allow orthopedic surgeons to improve patient care delivered through this technology. Level of Evidence: IV.