Telehealth in Pediatric Surgical Subspecialties: Rapid Adoption in the Setting of COVID-19

Telehealth has evolved over the past several decades to address varying medical needs. Most recently, it has been widely utilized as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most previous studies have not performed in-depth analyses of patient satisfaction with telehealth technologies. This project investigated patient satisfaction with the abrupt implementation of telemedicine within pediatric surgical subspecialties during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a single-center review to determine patients' satisfaction with telemedicine during the early stages of the pandemic. Surveys were distributed to patients who completed a telemedicine video visit within a pediatric surgical subspecialty at Connecticut Children's Medical Center between March 16 and May 16, 2020. A total of 1,608 patients were contacted, with 457 surveys completed (28.4%). Of all respondents, 95.6% were "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with their overall telemedicine appointment. Seventy-three percent reported no difficulty with completing their visit. Eighty-seven percent would consider another telemedicine visit again in the future. No significant difference was found between the payor mix for telemedicine and in-person appointments. The implementation of telemedicine at Connecticut Children's Medical Center during the COVID-19 pandemic was successful despite numerous barriers to use. Families not only showed high rates of satisfaction with the overall visit and provider interaction, but also an overwhelming openness to future use of telehealth.