Lynn Taylor Staheli (1933 - 2021) - in memory of the outstanding pediatric orthopedic surgeon of our time

Lynn Taylor Staheli is Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, a distinguished pediatric orthopedic surgeon, author of numerous studies and books, and a major contributor to the development of pediatric orthopedics. Professor Staheli was a founding editor of the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics and founder of Global HELP. In recent years he has been active in the promotion of modern approaches in pediatric orthopedics. Lynn Taylor Staheli passed away on August 9, 2021. He was 87 years old.

Launching Telemedicine in a Tertiary Ambulatory Pediatric Orthopaedic Clinic during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Telemedicine services increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, with limited studies on its implementation within pediatric orthopaedics. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to examine patient satisfaction and efficacy of telehealth specific to pediatric orthopaedics. METHODS Two hundred and seventy qualifying telehealth visits took place at a metropolitan area pediatric institute between March 1st-May 30th, 2020. Patients were invited to complete an anonymous satisfaction survey on their telehealth experience. Sixty-seven patients responded to the survey. A chart review was completed for all 270 telehealth visits. RESULTS Ninety-two percent (249/270) of telehealth visits were with established patients, and ninety-five percent (256/270) of visits were satisfactorily completed without further evaluation, with one visit requiring urgent in-person evaluation. Overall, patients were satisfied with initiating the telehealth visit (mean score of 4.56/5), as they felt comfortable discussing needs with the provider (4.68/5), and the visit saved time (4.61/5). However, patients were less enthused when deciding if telemedicine was of comparable quality to an in-person visit (3.68/5). CONCLUSIONS Our analysis showed that telehealth is a viable alternative to in-person visits for various pediatric orthopaedic visits, with minimal urgent complications. Patients benefited primarily from the time savings when using a telehealth visit. However, our study also demonstrates certain limitations of telemedicine, likely due to patients’ perceived value of an in-person evaluation. Our study's findings should encourage the continued implementation of pediatric orthopaedic telemedicine as an adjunct to in-person clinical practice.