The use of telemedicine in pre-surgical evaluation: a retrospective cohort study of a neurosurgical oncology practice

Abstract

Purpose To determine if there was a discrepancy between telemedicine versus in-person New Patient Visits (NPVs) regarding the conversion rate to operative and radiosurgery cases at a tertiary surgical neuro-oncology practice. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of patients who had an outpatient encounter with a neurosurgeon from the Tumor Division at our institution’s Department of Neurosurgery between February 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021. NPVs during this period were registered as either telemedicine or in-person appointments. The primary endpoint of the study was to compare the rate at which telemedicine NPVs and in-person NPVs underwent surgery or radiosurgery, reported as the surgical conversion rate. Results A total of 206 patients were included in this study. Of them, 119 (57.8%) were seen using telemedicine and 87 (42.2%) were seen in clinic via an in-person visit. A total of 70 (34%) of all patients underwent surgery or radiosurgery. Of the 119 patients seen via telemedicine, 40 (33.6%) underwent surgery or radiosurgery; during the same period, 87 NPVs were conducted in person and 30 (34.5%, p = 1.0) received an intervention. Further stratification revealed no differences between the two groups across measured criteria including diagnosis, number of pre-operative visits, elapsed time from appointment to surgery, follow-up visits, and distance from home address to neurosurgical clinic. Conclusion Telemedicine NPVs did not differ significantly from in-person NPVs when evaluating the likelihood of a new patient committing to surgical treatment. This study provides quantifiable evidence that telemedicine is an effective means of meeting new patients and planning complex neurosurgical interventions.

Knowledge Is (Still) Key: Awareness to Shape Trends in Telemedicine Use during the Pandemic Based on Management Perceptions and Implementation Systems

“…Meanwhile, this study is aimed at determining the factors that influence the use of telemedicine. It is essential to generate a perspective on which factors should be considered important and worthy of attention to implementing telemedicine technology in the healthcare sector, such as user knowledge [ 16 , 22 , 23 ] and perceptions regarding data security [ 24 , 25 ] and administration in telemedicine practices [ 26 , 27 ]. The conceptual framework for this research can be seen in Figure 1 .…”