96 Feasibility of pre-anesthetic telemedicine consultation in elective orthopedic surgery: experience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background and Aims Telemedicine is becoming more and more used for medical consultation. During the post-COVID-19 period this mode was supported by the French Society of Anesthesia to reduce the risk of viral transmission (1,2). The aim of this study was to determine the rate of successful telemedicine preoperative anesthesia consultation. Methods This observational, single-center, prospective study, included 267 patients scheduled for elective orthopedic surgery. They were invited to choose either virtual (TeleMed-C) or face-to-face (Face-Face-C) anesthetic preoperative consultation. Every TeleMed-C was carried out through a dedicated website. The Patient Environment Quality Index (PEQI) during TeleMed-C was assessed. Patient satisfaction and opinion about TeleMed-C were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. The use of a third-party facilitator was noted. Results The success of TeleMed-C without cancellation or postponement of surgery was 89.5%. A third-party facilitator was present in 46% of the patients over 65 yr. TeleMed-C happened in an adapted environment (98%) which led to a high level of patient satisfaction (97%) and a very high opinion (93%). Conclusions TeleMed-C is a preoperative anesthetic consultation method which could be widely highly selected by the patients, without increasing the risks of postponed or cancelled surgery. It should be considered as a valid procedure, and not only as an alternative to Face-Face-C.