Efficacy of Telehealth Visits for Postoperative Care at the Minneapolis VA

Background: About half of Minneapolis VA patients reside in rural areas, receiving their primary care at a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). Although some CBOC's are over 200 miles away, patients must travel to the Twin Cities for surgical services.

Methods: The 167 consecutive patients who opted for telehealth postoperative visits were surveyed. Data collected included travel time and distance to the Minneapolis VA and their local CBOC, need for transportation assistance to the clinic/VA, complications as a result of telehealth and a 1-10 overall satisfaction score.

Results: Respondents reported a mean ± SD satisfaction score of 9.60 ± 1.20, with a mean cost savings of $51.94 ± $40.92, decrease in travel time of 99.4 ± 76.6 min and no post-surgical complications missed.

Conclusions: The telehealth program appears to be safe, saves time and money for veterans and results in extremely high patient satisfaction.