Abstract
Aim
To evaluate the clinical outcome and patient’s satisfaction of our real-time teleurology experience.
Materials
A prospective study, the whole cohort of face-to-face [FTF] clinics was shifted for telephone clinics. The data were collected prospectively for all appointments from 30th March to 3rd April. The primary objectives were clinic outcome and patient’s satisfaction evaluated using a validated questionnaire. The secondary objectives were number of non-attendance, percentage of face-to-face clinics and clinic demographics.
Results
Overall, 95 scheduled appointments for 7 consultants and 2 trainees. Telephone consultations performed for 75 patients, while 6 patients reviewed in FTF Clinics, and 14 patients classified as non-attendant. The non-attendance rate was 14.7%, with estimated 50% reduction in comparison to FTF rate prior to pandemic. The majority of patients (58%) treated conservatively while 14 (17.2%) patients commenced on medications, and 20 patients (24.6%) were listed for surgery. All patients but one (98.1%) agreed that cancelling FTF clinics was reasonable. The majority of the patients 94.2%, 96.2%, 84.6% found the telephone clinic was effective, long enough, and was easy to express their concerns over the phone, respectively. Approximately 90.4% and 100% satisfied with teleurology service and that clinicians were careful, respectively.
Conclusions
Our study elucidated the feasibility of teleurology in a real time setting and showed that it meets the tetrafecta of clinical outcomes, continuity of care, patient’s safety, and patient’s satisfaction. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess patient’s perception of teleurology using a validated questionnaire.
Inertial sensor real-time feedback enhances the learning of cervical spine manipulation: a prospective study
