Telemedicine for pediatric surgical outpatient follow-up: A prospective, randomized single-center trial

2018

Telemedicine is gaining popularity for a variety of indications. We performed a randomized controlled trial comparing telemedical versus conventional clinic follow-up in terms of feasibility and quality.Patients discharged from pediatric surgery were randomized to telemedical or onsite follow-up. In the telemedical group, video telephony was used to obtain interim history and physical findings. Onsite patients were personally seen in the outpatient clinic. Caregivers completed a postvisit survey on satisfaction and efficiency. Providers scored data transmission quality and clinical interpretability.From March 2015 until January 2017, 224 patients were randomized equally to the study groups.…