Telemedicine in the pediatric surgery in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented expansion of telemedicine services worldwide. This study aimed to explore the practice of telemedicine in Pediatric Surgery in Germany, the impact of the pandemic on its development and parents’ and surgeons’ experiences with telemedicine. Methods: The study is a cross-sectional analysis using three surveys between 6/2020 and 10/2020: (1) all Pediatric Surgery departments of Germany reported whether they provide telemedicine services. (2) Members of the German Society of Pediatric Surgery and (3) families who participated in an outpatient visit by telephone or video with the Department of Pediatric Surgery and Pediatric Urology of the University Hospital Frankfurt completed an anonymous survey on their experience with telemedicine. Results: 21% of the Pediatric Surgery departments in Germany provided telemedicine, of which 57% started due to the pandemic. The lack of physical examination and face-to-face contact seem to be the major limitations to surgeons and parents. 48% of the parents answered that telemedicine is equal to or better than traditional appointments, while 33% thought that telemedicine is worse. Conclusions: This study shows that families and doctors alike have had positive experiences with telemedicine and most will continue to use this format after the pandemic.

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Author:Georgy LakshinORCiD, Séverine BanekGND, Daniel KeeseGND, Udo RolleORCiDGND, Andrea SchmeddingORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-715873
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-020-04822-w
ISSN:1437-9813
Parent Title (English):Pediatric surgery international
Publisher:Springer
Place of publication:Berlin ; Heidelberg
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2021/01/02
Date of first Publication:2021/01/02
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2023/03/28
Tag:COVID-19; Expansion; Pediatric surgery; Satisfaction; Telemedicine
Volume:37
Issue:3
Page Number:7
First Page:389
Last Page:395
Note:
Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
HeBIS-PPN:508951526
Institutes:Medizin
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung 4.0