Telehealth Visits Detected Postoperative Complications As Effectively As In-Person Follow-Up Visits

A pilot telehealth program for postoperative care detected wound care needs and complications as effectively as in-person follow-up visits. The program enrolled 35 veterans who had minor surgery from May to July 2014. Each veteran was evaluated in three sequential visits: telephone, in-person, and video-conferencing. Each visit assessed general recovery, follow-up needs, wound care needs, and complications. There was 100% agreement across all three types of visits in the domains of general recovery and follow-up needs. The telephone and video visits detected all wound and postoperative complications.

These findings were reported in “Postoperative Telehealth . . .