Implementing telemedicine in urogynecology: A feasibility study

Introduction and hypothesis Telemedicine has been recommended for the management of urogynecological conditions during the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of telemedicine for urogynecology at a Brazilian public hospital. Methods A descriptive observational study was performed at a urogynecology outpatient clinic. The primary outcome was the desire to continue with telemedicine. Secondary outcomes were appointment resolvability, technical aspects of the appointment, and patient satisfaction. The participants had in-person appointments that were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data on sociodemographic characteristics and clinical and technical aspects of the appointments. The participants responded to satisfaction questionnaires 7-15 days post-procedure. The categorical variables were evaluated based on absolute and relative frequency. The continuous variables were described as the mean and standard deviation. A chi-square test was performed to determine the association between variables. Results In total, 225 patients had appointments canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, of which 171 were eligible for the study. Telemedicine appointments were agreed upon by 48% of the participants and 85.5% responded to the satisfaction survey. We found that 57.7% of the participants desired to continue with telemedicine. The appointment resolvability rate was 76.1%, 63.4% of the appointments met the technical criteria, and the satisfaction rate was 93%. The only variable associated with the desire to continue telemedicine was overall patient satisfaction (p=0.02). Conclusions Telemedicine in urogynecology is feasible and can be implemented in the studied population. However, actions are essential to adequately support patient preference and improve the acceptance of telemedicine.