Telehealth for Preoperative Evaluation of Patients With Breast Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: or Fisher's exact tests. Results Of 158 patients, 56% had initial telehealth consultations (21% telephone, 35% video) and 42% did not have a preoperative physical examination. Age, race/ethnicity, and stage distributions were similar between initial visit types. Median time to consultation was lower in the initial telehealth group than the office group (6 days vs 9 days, p = 0.01). Other outcomes (surgeon touchpoints, time to surgery, surgery type, reconstruction) were similar between visit types. We observed higher reexcision rates in patients with initial telehealth visits (20% telehealth vs 4% office, p = 0.01), but evaluation was limited by small numbers. The reexcision rate was 13% for patients with telehealth visits and no preoperative physical exam. Discussion During the initial pandemic period, the majority of new breast cancer patients had an initial telehealth surgical consultation. Office and telehealth consultation visits had comparable numbers of postconsultation surgeon touchpoints and most outcomes. Our findings suggest that telehealth consultations may be feasible for preoperative breast cancer consultations.
Source: The Permanente Journal
DOI: 10.7812/tpp/21.126
Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Drexel University, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Fremont Medical Center
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4283693997