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Obesity Surgery
Published in: Obesity Surgery 8/2019

01-08-2019 | Bariatric Surgery | Brief Communication

Exploring the Effects of Telemedicine on Bariatric Surgery Follow-up: a Matched Case Control Study

Authors: Chen D. Wang, Thiyake Rajaratnam, Benjamin Stall, Raed Hawa, Sanjeev Sockalingam

Published in: Obesity Surgery | Issue 8/2019

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Abstract

Telemedicine offers a potential solution for bariatric surgery (BS) aftercare for patients living in rural areas with limited access to healthcare services. This study aimed to compare post-BS appointment adherence, psychosocial, and body mass index (BMI) outcomes in patients that did or did not use telemedicine. In total, 192 (96 telemedicine and 96 non-telemedicine) patients were matched on gender, age, time since surgery, BMI, and travel distance from program. Additional psychosocial and demographic variables including rurality index (RIO) were collected. Telemedicine users had a significantly higher RIO (p < 0.001) than non-telemedicine users. Appointment attendance, BMI, and psychosocial outcomes were not significantly different between the two groups. Therefore, our results suggest that telemedicine could help overcome geographical barriers to provide comparable quality healthcare services to more remote regions.
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Metadata
Title
Exploring the Effects of Telemedicine on Bariatric Surgery Follow-up: a Matched Case Control Study
Authors
Chen D. Wang
Thiyake Rajaratnam
Benjamin Stall
Raed Hawa
Sanjeev Sockalingam
Publication date
01-08-2019
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Obesity Surgery / Issue 8/2019
Print ISSN: 0960-8923
Electronic ISSN: 1708-0428
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-019-03930-4

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