Serving patients in a pandemic – the rise of telemedicine in urogynecology

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in healthcare provision across the NHS with large-scale implementation of telemedicine. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, patients’ convenience and satisfaction of telephone clinics in urogynecology during the initial stages of the pandemic. Methods: All consented patients scheduled for phone clinics were included. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data and inductive thematic analysis for free-text comments. Results: 101/109 (93%) patients completed the survey. Median age (interquartile, IQR) was 60 years (IQR 21.5) and median consultation duration was 16 minutes (IQR 8). 33/101 (32.7%) were new cases and 13/101(12.9%) were tertiary referrals. To facilitate face-to-face appointments, 100/101 (99%) patients required transport and 30/101 (29.7%) needed time off-work. 98/101 (97%) of the patients were happy or very happy with phone consultation, with 91/101(90.1%) scoring 8-10 on Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Conclusion: Urogynecology phone clinics are feasible, acceptable and convenient with high level of patients’ satisfaction. Robust studies are required to evaluate the feasibility of integrating telemedicine into routine urogynecology practice.