Patient satisfaction and savings, and clinical outcomes of televisits in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at an urban academic center

Aim: To evaluate patient satisfaction and savings, and compare visit outcomes based on chief complaint (CC) of women presenting for a televisit to a female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) clinic at an urban academic center. Methods: A cross-sectional study of women completing a televisit with an FPMRS specialist at our institution from June 19, 2020 to July 17, 2020 was conducted. A telephone questionnaire was administered to patients to assess satisfaction and savings (travel costs/time avoided). Electronic medical records were reviewed to collect patient demographics and comorbidities, CC, and televisit outcomes (e.g., face-to-face (F2F) exam scheduled, orders placed). Logistic regression was used to analyze predictors of satisfaction and need for F2F follow-up. Results: One hundred eighty-seven of 290 (64.5%) women called completed the survey, of whom 168 (89.8%) were satisfied with their televisit. Eighty-eight (48.1%) saved at least an hour and 54 (28.9%) saved more than $25 on transportation. There were no significant associations between patient characteristics, CC, or televisit outcomes and satisfaction. Ninety-nine (52.9%) televisits resulted in F2F follow-up, with CC of prolapse (odds ratio [OR] = 4.2 (1.7–10.3); p = 0.002), new patient (OR = 2.2 (1.2–4.2); p = 0.01), and Hispanic ethnicity (OR = 3.9 (1.2–13.6); p=.03) as significant predictors. Conclusion: Most patients were satisfied with FPMRS televisits at our urban academic center. Televisits resulted in patient travel time and cost savings. Women presenting with prolapse and for new patient visits would likely benefit from initial F2F visits instead of televisits. Televisits are an important mode of health care and in some cases can replace F2F visits.