Characteristics of Patients Utilizing Telemedicine in Hand and Upper-Extremity Surgery

The impact of social determinants of health on patients' access to medical care and health outcomes is increasingly recognized. Telemedicine's rapid and widespread adoption altered the delivery of care. This study describes the characteristics of patients undergoing telemedicine visits with hand surgeons, without COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions.

All telemedicine encounters for 4 hand surgeons at a single institution between September 2022 and September 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. Patient demographics were recorded as well as the encounter type. The distance of the patients' residential address and the area deprivation index (ADI) were recorded.

Sixty patient encounters were recorded. Forty-seven percent were male and 53% were female, 5 (8.3%) were new patients, 44 (73.3%) were established patients, and 11 (18.3%) were postoperative. The mean age was 43, and the mean and median distances from the clinic were 72 and 18 miles, respectively. Forty-three patients (72%) were from high ADI residences. Upon comparison of low ADI (0-50th percentile) and high ADI (50th-100th percentile) patients, no statistically significant differences in age, sex, distance from clinic, or encounter type were found.

Telemedicine in hand surgery at this single institution is most frequently used for follow-up encounter types in patients living in high ADI communities, far from clinic sites. Low or high ADI did not correlate with seasonal changes in the use of telemedicine, encounter type, or patient demographics. Telemedicine may improve patient access to hand surgery follow-up care. This may particularly benefit patients facing geographic and economic challenges to healthcare access.

Prognostic Level IV.