ArticleSurgery2022
Telemedicine implementation trends in surgical specialties before and after COVID-19 shelter in place: Adjusting to a changing landscape.
Article in Surgery, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Improving access to urological care in rural underserved populations in Nigeria using telemedicine: a needs assessment and patient perception survey.World journal of urology · 2025Article
- Outcomes comparison for same-day laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: a propensity score matched analysis utilizing the MBSAQIP PUF.Surgical endoscopy · 2025Article
- Article
- Clinical Outcomes and Resource Efficiency of a Telehealth Model for New Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding Referrals: A Tertiary Colorectal Outpatient Service Audit.International journal of telemedicine and applications · 2025Article
- Bridging Distances and Enhancing Care: A Comprehensive Review of Telemedicine in Surgery.Cureus · 2024Review
- Optimizing Surgical Care Amidst COVID-19: A Scoping Review of Practices and Policies.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The safety of telemedicine clinics as an alternative to in-person preoperative assessment for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with benign gallbladder disease: a retrospective cohort study.Patient safety in surgery · 2023Article
- A Descriptive National Survey of Post-COVID Experiences of Nigerian Surgical Trainees.Nigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical AssociationReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic caused a shift from in-person care to telemedicine, providing a unique opportunity to evaluate trends and efficiency of telemedicine usage within surgical subspecialties in a large, integrated health care system before and after shelter in place mandates.
methodsThis retrospective cohort study included all of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California members referred to surgical services from January 1, 2019 to June 13, 2020 and receiving a surgical procedure. We compared the patient referrals (categorized as benign, urgent, or cancer) before and after shelter in place mandates, and we examined rates of telemedicine (video or telephone) usage for preoperative consultations, postoperative visits, time from referral to first surgical encounter, and to surgery or procedure. In multivariate analyses, we assessed the patient and provider characteristics associated with telemedicine usage.
resultsThere was a total of 34,875 surgical referrals resulting in a procedure, with a significant decline in referral after shelter in place mandates. Preoperative encounter types shifted from 89.8% in-person before shelter in place mandates to 70.2% telemedicine after shelter in place mandates (P < .0001). The median time from referral to first encounter decreased after shelter in place mandates, as did median time to procedure. After shelter in place mandates, postoperative encounters were mainly telemedicine (65.8%) compared with before shelter in place mandates (41.7%) (P < .0001). Overall, there was a comparable uptake of telemedicine usage in almost all evaluated categories of patient characteristics after shelter in place mandates.
conclusionWithin a health care system with prior telemedicine capability, surgical specialties were able to shift to telemedicine rapidly, equitably, and efficiently in the preoperative and postoperative encounters of benign, urgent, and cancer diagnosis during mandated COVID-19 restrictions.
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Registered trials
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