Patient Preferences for Utilization of Telemedicine in Aesthetic Surgery Consultations

IF 2.8 3区医学 Q2 SURGERY Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Pub Date : 2025-02-24 DOI:10.1007/s00266-025-04749-4

Emily Long, Valeria P. Bustos, Dominick Falcon, Lacey Foster, Ashley Boustany, Samuel Lin

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Abstract

Purpose

Telemedicine has been increasingly utilized by plastic surgeons since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as it minimizes visit time, costs, and viral exposures. However, patient comfort level and preference for telemedicine visits in the aesthetic surgery perioperative period remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient comfort and preferences regarding perioperative telemedicine visits for aesthetic surgery.

Methods

An IRB-approved cross-sectional survey was conducted in January 2022 on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform to assess respondents’ comfort and preferences regarding periprocedural telemedicine visits. Survey responses were compared using descriptive and multivariate analyses.

Results

A total of 505 participants (54% male, 46% female; mean age 37.7±11.5 years) completed the survey. The majority of respondents reported feeling either very or somewhat comfortable having their initial consult via telemedicine for both aesthetic surgery (72%) and non-surgical aesthetic procedures (74%). Respondents were most comfortable having an initial telemedicine consult for head and neck procedures, and least comfortable having telemedicine consults for sensitive areas, including the breast and buttocks. Respondents were significantly more comfortable scheduling non-surgical procedures than surgical procedures after a telemedicine consult alone (65% vs 58%; p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Our data suggests that the majority of aesthetic surgery patients are comfortable with having initial consultations via telemedicine. Particularly in young patients seeking non-surgical aesthetic procedures, telemedicine consults alone may be substituted for in-office visits prior to procedural scheduling. However, for operations and procedures requiring physical examination of sensitive areas, including the breasts and gluteal regions, in-person visits remain the preferred modality.

Level of Evidence III

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

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在美容手术咨询中使用远程医疗的患者偏好。

目的：自COVID-19大流行开始以来，整形外科医生越来越多地使用远程医疗，因为它可以最大限度地减少就诊时间、成本和病毒暴露。然而，患者舒适度和偏好的远程医疗访问在美容手术围手术期仍然未知。本研究的目的是评估患者对美容手术围手术期远程医疗访问的舒适度和偏好。方法：一项经irb批准的横断面调查于2022年1月在亚马逊的土耳其机械（MTurk）平台上进行，以评估受访者对围手术期远程医疗就诊的舒适度和偏好。使用描述性和多变量分析对调查结果进行比较。结果：共有505名参与者(男性54%，女性46%；平均年龄37.7±11.5岁)完成调查。大多数受访者表示，通过远程医疗对美容手术（72%）和非手术美容程序（74%）进行初步咨询感到非常或有些舒服。答复者对头部和颈部手术进行初步远程医疗咨询感到最自在，对敏感部位（包括乳房和臀部）进行远程医疗咨询感到最不自在。受访者在单独进行远程医疗咨询后，更愿意安排非手术治疗，而不是手术治疗(65% vs 58%；结论：我们的数据表明，大多数美容手术患者对通过远程医疗进行初步咨询感到满意。特别是在寻求非手术美容手术的年轻患者中，远程医疗咨询可以代替手术安排之前的办公室就诊。然而，对于需要对敏感部位（包括乳房和臀部）进行身体检查的手术和程序，亲自就诊仍然是首选方式。证据等级iii：本刊要求作者为每篇文章指定证据等级。有关这些循证医学评级的完整描述，请参阅目录或在线作者说明www.springer.com/00266。

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来源期刊

Aesthetic Plastic Surgery 医学-外科

CiteScore

4.40

自引率

25.00%

发文量

479

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is a publication of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the official journal of the European Association of Societies of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (EASAPS), Società Italiana di Chirurgia Plastica Ricostruttiva ed Estetica (SICPRE), Vereinigung der Deutschen Aesthetisch Plastischen Chirurgen (VDAPC), the Romanian Aesthetic Surgery Society (RASS), Asociación Española de Cirugía Estética Plástica (AECEP), La Sociedad Argentina de Cirugía Plástica, Estética y Reparadora (SACPER), the Rhinoplasty Society of Europe (RSE), the Iranian Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgeons (ISPAS), the Singapore Association of Plastic Surgeons (SAPS), the Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS), the Egyptian Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (ESPRS), and the Sociedad Chilena de Cirugía Plástica, Reconstructiva y Estética (SCCP). Aesthetic Plastic Surgery provides a forum for original articles advancing the art of aesthetic plastic surgery. Many describe surgical craftsmanship; others deal with complications in surgical procedures and methods by which to treat or avoid them. Coverage includes "second thoughts" on established techniques, which might be abandoned, modified, or improved. Also included are case histories; improvements in surgical instruments, pharmaceuticals, and operating room equipment; and discussions of problems such as the role of psychosocial factors in the doctor-patient and the patient-public interrelationships. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is covered in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, SciSearch, Research Alert, Index Medicus-Medline, and Excerpta Medica/Embase.