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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2022 Jan;33(1):85-93.
doi: 10.1007/s00192-021-04831-w. Epub 2021 May 24.

A telehealth intervention to increase patient preparedness for surgery: a randomized trial

Gabriela E Halder  1 , Amanda B White  2 , Heidi W Brown  3 , Lauren Caldwell  2 , Michelle L Wright  2 , Dobie L Giles  3 , Christine A Heisler  3 , Daksha Bilagi  2 , Rebecca G Rogers  2   4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A telehealth intervention to increase patient preparedness for surgery: a randomized trial

Gabriela E Halder et al. Int Urogynecol J. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis: Methods to increase surgical preparedness in urogynecology are lacking. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of a preoperative provider-initiated telehealth call on surgical preparedness.

Methods: This was a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Women undergoing surgery for pelvic organ prolapse and/or stress urinary incontinence were randomized to either a telehealth call 3 (± 2) days before surgery plus usual preoperative counseling versus usual preoperative counseling alone. Our primary outcome was surgical preparedness, as measured by the Preoperative Prepardeness Questionnaire. The Modified Surgical Pain Scale, Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20, Patient Global Impressions of Improvement, Patient Global Impressions of Severity, Satisfaction with Decision Scale, Decision Regret Scale, and Clavien-Dindo scores were obtained at 4-8 weeks postoperatively and comparisons were made between groups.

Results: Mean telehealth call time was 11.1 ± 4.11 min. Women who received a preoperative telehealth call (n = 63) were significantly more prepared for surgery than those who received usual preoperative counseling alone (n = 69); 82.5 vs 59.4%, p < 0.01). A preoperative telehealth call was associated with greater understanding of surgical alternatives (77.8 vs 59.4%, p = 0.03), complications (69.8 vs 47.8%, p = 0.01), hospital-based catheter care (54 vs 34.8%, p = 0.04) and patient perception that nurses and doctors had spent enough time preparing them for their upcoming surgery (84.1 vs 60.9%, p < 0.01). At 4-8 weeks, no differences in postoperative and patient reported outcomes were observed between groups (all p > 0.05).

Conclusions: A short preoperative telehealth call improves patient preparedness for urogynecological surgery.

Keywords: Counseling; Preoperative care; Surgery; Telemedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Enrollment, randomization, and analysis of research participants
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Preoperative counseling checklist used to standardize counseling between providers
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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