ArticleJournal of medical systems2022
The Flexible Care Pathway: An Alternative Paradigm for Post-Operative Care.
Article in Journal of medical systems, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Telemedicine in Plastic Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Utilization and Outcomes Pre- and Post-pandemic.Aesthetic plastic surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Flexible nursing in patients with lung cancer who received chemotherapy.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2023Trial
- Post-Implementation Outcomes of a Streamlined Care in Pediatric Hand Injuries Pathway.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Assessing the frequency and utility of orthopaedic outpatient department (OPD) attendances of surgically managed distal radius and ankle fractures.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionTelehealth has demonstrated reduced cost and increased satisfaction post-operatively compared to Conventional Follow-up (CFU). However, a Flexible Care Pathway (FCP), which involves only "as-needed" follow-up, has never been formally evaluated. We hypothesize that the FCP is a safe and satisfactory for patients who undergo carpal (CTR)/ cubital tunnel release (CuTR). MATERIALS AND
methodsPreoperatively, veterans were given the option to enroll in the FCP, in which post-operative follow-up visits were "as-needed" only. Patients who chose CFU were evaluated within 2 weeks post-operatively. Preoperatively, detailed post-operative instructions were given to both groups. Both groups were contacted by phone 30 days post-operatively with a questionnaire. The main outcomes were the number of FCP to CFU conversions, complications, time and distance of patient travel, and patient satisfaction.
results105 patients were enrolled in the study, 60.2% chose FCP. One quarter (23.7%) of patients in the FCP group returned for in-person clinic evaluation. On average, the CFU group travelled a roundtrip distance of 102.9 miles and expended 3.51 h for their follow-up visits. CFU patients ranked their satisfaction at an average of 8.6/10, FCP patients ranked an average of 9.5/10 (p < 0.05).
conclusionsThe FCP can be used in ambulatory hand surgeries with a high degree of safety and satisfaction, studied up to 30 days post-operatively. The FCP demonstrated higher patient satisfaction and a decrease in patient travel than CFU. This is particularly relevant in geographically broad areas, in populations with less access to specialty care, and in a pandemic where contact is limited.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.