Abstract
BACKGROUND: The use of telemedicine can contribute to patient satisfaction, support hygienic concepts by avoiding physical contact when not required, and reduce waiting and travel time. We aimed to evaluate our recently implemented telemedical approach of remote pre-anesthesia assessment. METHODS: We designed a questionnaire to assess patient satisfaction with remote pre-anesthesia assessment procedures, completeness of understanding, and technical feasibility. In total, 250 patients were asked to voluntarily complete the questionnaire after their pre-anesthesia assessment via telephone. Digital anesthesia records were subsequently reviewed for unexpected events and complications to investigate the quality and safety of the approach. RESULTS: Patients included in our study were 51 years old (median, range 18-85 years), mostly female (58%) and had an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status of 1-3 (22.8%, 56.4%, and 20.8%, respectively). Patient satisfaction was high with ratings of "very good" or "good" in over 90% of all questions related to the pre-anesthesia assessment via telephone. Patient's evaluation for the use of telemedicine in general also showed a wide acceptance with 84.4% rating the idea as "very good" (55.6%) or "good" (28.8%). Duration of patient-physician interaction positively correlated with age (p = 0.005) and ASA status (p = 0.003). Upon review of the digital anesthesia records, there were no intraoperative complications or unexpected events related to the remote pre-anesthesia assessment. CONCLUSION: Remote pre-anesthesia assessment via telephone is safe, technically feasible, and satisfactorily accepted in selected patients. These results encourage the continuing implementation of telemedical approaches for pre-anesthesia assessment.