Leveraging Collaboration in Pediatric Multidisciplinary Colorectal Care Using a Telehealth Platform.

Creator(s)

Joseph Lopez, Children's Mercy Kansas CityFollow
Wendy Jo Svetanoff, Children's Mercy Kansas City
John Rosen, Children's Mercy Kansas CityFollow
Alonso Carrasco, Children's Mercy HospitalFollow
Rebecca M. Rentea, Children's Mercy HospitalFollow
Comprehensive Colorectal Center of Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2022

Identifier

DOI: 10.1177/00031348211023428

Abstract

PURPOSE: Pediatric colorectal problems often require complex multidisciplinary care (MDC), which has been affected by the SARS-CoV-2-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We describe our utilization and implementation of telehealth (TH) for pediatric colorectal surgery MDC visits and collate patient satisfaction using TH compared to in-person (IP) visits.

METHODS: Implementation of a single-institution MDC TH platform to perform patient visits on February 1, 2020 was studied. Following 6 months of implementation, TH visits' characteristics were compared with IP visits in the 3 months before implementation by patient volume, length of clinic visits, and patient satisfaction survey results.

RESULTS: Before implementation, 152 (100%) of clinic visits were IP. During the implementation, 87 (37.7%) were TH visits. Seventy-four (49%) were MDC visits, 17 (23%) of these using the TH platform. Each TH visit's median length was 25 minutes (IQR 15-30), while the median length of IP visits was 45 minutes (IQR 30-45). Pre-implementation satisfaction scores were 88.6% positive, while satisfaction scores after implementation were 96.8% positive. None of the patients who utilized the TH platform had an unplanned hospital admission within 24 hours of being seen.

CONCLUSION: Our experience demonstrates that the TH platform can provide an efficient avenue for established patients and families to receive highly complex multidisciplinary follow-up care. High levels of patient satisfaction indicated that TH should become part of the routine care plan for patients who require long-term or consistent follow-up.

Journal Title

The American surgeon

Volume

88

Issue

9

First Page

2320

Last Page

2326

MeSH Keywords

COVID-19; Child; Colorectal Neoplasms; Humans; Patient Satisfaction; SARS-CoV-2; Telemedicine

Keywords

Hirschsprung disease; anorectal malformation; colorectal; pediatric surgery; telehealth

Recommended Citation

Lopez JJ, Svetanoff WJ, Rosen JM, Carrasco A, Rentea RM; Comprehensive Colorectal Center of Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO. Leveraging Collaboration in Pediatric Multidisciplinary Colorectal Care Using a Telehealth Platform. Am Surg. 2022;88(9):2320-2326. doi:10.1177/00031348211023428