Patient perceptions of preoperative anaesthesia assessment at a distance

Abstract

We investigated patient perceptions of a pilot telemedicine preoperative evaluation clinic. Thirteen patients scheduled for elective surgery participated in an outpatient clinic-based preoperative evaluation using telemedicine. The clinic was 80 km from the tertiary care surgical centre. At the clinic, there was an anaesthesia nurse practitioner. An anaesthetist evaluated electrocardiograms, medical records and physical findings via a videoconferencing link. The subjects completed a 15–item, 5–point Likert scale questionnaire. The mean score in the technical quality domain (five items) was 1.7. The mean score in the efficacy perception domain (four items) was 1.6. The mean score in the affective experience domain (three items) was 4.4 (negative perception questions). The mean score in the patient preference domain (three items) was 1.3. The present study confirms that patients accepted remote preoperative anaesthesia services, with positive perceptions in the four domains examined.