AB115. SOH22ABS067. Virtual assessment of elective upper limb pathology: a pilot study evaluating patient satisfaction rates following telemedicine clinic consultation

Background: The introduction of Telemedicine to manage virtual trauma has also shown to yield high patient satisfaction rates, increased convenience and decreased overall costs. Similar safety profiles have been identified with virtual patient management as compared to conventional clinic assessment. Introduction of a telemedicine platform for the assessment of simple elective upper limb pathology has not been investigated in the literature to date. We aim to assess patient satisfaction rates following virtual clinical assessment of simple upper limb pathology.

Methods: This is a prospective pilot study assessing patient satisfaction rates following virtual consultation for one of three conditions, carpal tunnel syndrome, stenosing tenosynovitis (trigger finger) and Dupuytren’s contracture. Inclusion criteria for access to the virtual pathway included having one of the three conditions in isolation with no evidence of subjective ambiguity based on the referral letter. Exclusion criteria include non-isolated pathology, ambiguity of referral and inability of patients to access a video platform. Waiting list time and characterisation of underlying condition were recorded as well as time of consultation and patient satisfaction rates.

Results: A total of 20 patients met our inclusion criteria for participation in this study; 15 females and 5 males with an age range of 34 to 76 and a mean age of 56. Nine patients present with symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, 8 patients with trigger finger and 3 patients with Dupytren’s contracture. We found virtual consultation to be more time-efficient and require fewer resources while also having increased patient satisfaction rates compared to conventional clinic.

Conclusions: This is the first study identifying the use of telemedicine in assessment of simple elective upper limb pathology. We have found that the virtual assessment of simple conditions can be carried out effectively and efficiently with high satisfaction rates.

Keywords: Carpal tunnel syndrome; telemedicine; trigger finger; upper limb; virtual consultation