Rural patients' experiences with anesthesia and surgical consultations in British Columbia: A survey-based comparison between virtual and in-person modalities

Jude Kornelsen; Matilda Taylor; Sean Ebert; Tom Skinner; Kathrin Stoll

doi:10.1177/20552076241242667

Rural patients' experiences with anesthesia and surgical consultations in British Columbia: A survey-based comparison between virtual and in-person modalities

Digit Health. 2024 Mar 28:10:20552076241242667. doi: 10.1177/20552076241242667. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Jude Kornelsen¹, Matilda Taylor¹, Sean Ebert², Tom Skinner², Kathrin Stoll¹

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Rural Health Research, Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
² Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: Rural patients face barriers to accessing surgical care and often need to travel long distance for pre- or post-surgical consultations. Although adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the efficacy of virtual care, there is minimal data available to evaluate patient satisfaction with this modality and consequent health service utilization if virtual services are not available.

Methods: An online survey was conducted with participants living in rural British Columbia, Canada who had undergone surgery within 12 months of data collection and had either virtual or face-to-face pre- or post-surgical consultations. It was supplemented by an in-person survey administered in two rural sites to all patients who had a virtual visit prior to undergoing procedural care. A ten-point scale was used to assess satisfaction. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed.

Results: Findings from the province-wide survey (n = 163) revealed no significant differences in average satisfaction ratings between people with in-person and virtual surgical consultations (8.03 versus 8.38, p = 0.26). However, most participants indicated that virtual appointments saved them time traveling, energy, and money and made them less dependent on others, accruing significant social benefit.In the community-focused sample (n = 71), 38% said they would not have had the procedure without a virtual visit option and 21% said that they would have delayed the procedure. Virtual consultations saved patients an average of 9 h (range 1-90). Participants traveled an average of 427 kilometers round trip to have the procedures.

Conclusion: Findings reveal costs and time saved in accessing care due to the introduction of pre- and post-operative virtual care visits, and further investments in virtual care are warranted. This will contribute to promoting equitable access to healthcare for rural residents.

Keywords: British Columbia; Rural health services; consultations; remote consultation; surgical care; telemedicine; virtual care.