Patient Satisfaction With Telehealth Consultation In The Breast Reduction Population
Xingchen Li, MD, Jacqueline Tucker, BS, Alexa Hughes, BS, Deborah Daoud, BS, Rebecca S. Bickham, MD, John D. Potochny, MD, FACS.
Penn State Health Hershey Medical Center, Hummelstown, PA, USA.
Purpose: Telemedicine or telehealth allows for healthcare access to populations with barriers to traditional care. Although some institutions offer telemedicine for perioperative care, few have studied its role in plastic surgery as the initial consultation. This study uses a standardized questionnaire to survey breast reduction patients' perspectives on using telemedicine for the first clinic visit.
Methods: Telehealth visits were conducted using the Amwell telehealth platform (Boston, MA) and consisted of a full history, patient counseling, and referrals to physical therapy and mammography as needed. Patients were then asked standardized questions specific to the telehealth aspect of the visit as well as the satisfaction with medical team module of the Body-Q.
Results: 21 women were surveyed between November 2020 and May 2021. On average, patients scored 94.38 (range 38-100) on the satisfaction with medical team module of the Body Q. 95.4% of patients definitely agreed that their privacy was protected and that they could communicate effectively, 90% definitely agreed that they were thoroughly evaluated, 90.5% definitely agreed that all of their questions and concerns were addressed, 76.2% definitely agreed that the technology was easy to use, and 85.7% definitely agreed that they were satisfied with their care (Figure 1).
Conclusion: Breast reduction patients are generally satisfied with their initial telehealth consultation. This modality should be used to increase access to expert counseling for breast reduction patients.
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