Endocrine Surgery Patients' and Providers' Perceptions of Telemedicine in the COVID Era

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine has become a key modality for health care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, including for endocrine surgery. Little data exists on patients’ and referring endocrinologists’ perspectives of its use. The study aimed to assess and compare endocrine surgery patients’ attitudes about telemedicine to that of referring endocrinologists. METHOD: Patients from a regional endocrine surgery practice and referring endocrinologists were sent surveys about their perspectives on telemedicine use. RESULTS: Fifty two patients responded: average age was 58.3 years; 78% were female; 33% were Black. Sixteen referring endocrinologists responded: average age was 52.4 years; 62.5% were female. Nearly all patients (92%) and providers (100%) would try telemedicine or use it again. Providers were more likely than patients to use telemedicine because of COVID-19 (100% versus 70.6%, P = 0.03). Patients were more concerned about the lack of personal connection with telemedicine than providers (60.8% versus 25.0%, P = 0.02). Endocrinologists were more interested in using telemedicine to review abnormal results (81.3% versus 35.3%, P <0.01), and more patients were specifically disinterested in reviewing abnormal results via telemedicine (54.9% versus 6.3%, P = 0.04). Patients were more interested in its use for postoperative visits (47.1% versus 0%, P <0.01). More endocrinologists were specifically disinclined to conduct new consultations with telemedicine (87.5% versus 58.8%, P <0.01). CONCLUSION: Telemedicine is a mutually acceptable method for patients and their referring providers for endocrine surgery delivery, although in-person visits continue to have their place. Telemedicine use may continue to expand after the pandemic as an important point of access for endocrine surgery.