Build your own all-virtual multidisciplinary kidney stone clinic

Transl Androl Urol. 2024 Oct 31;13(10):2174-2179. doi: 10.21037/tau-24-248. Epub 2024 Oct 28.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: With the dramatic rise of telemedicine in the post coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, our objective was to develop a totally virtual multidisciplinary kidney stone clinic and assess patient satisfaction of this format.

METHODS: The virtual multidisciplinary stone clinic began July 2021 and continued monthly. Prior to the beginning of each clinic, providers from the urology, nephrology, and dietitian teams meet virtually to discuss the patients. Patients would then log into WebEx virtual platform and providers would subsequently log into the patient's virtual room, to review radiology, laboratory results, and dietary logs then provide counseling. Patients were then sent a survey via electronic mail regarding their experience. A 5-point Likert scale was used for responses ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Scores were averaged to rank results.

RESULTS: A total of 122 patients were sent surveys, and a total of 31 surveys were completed. Sixty-one percent of patients strongly agree and 13% agree that they felt comfortable using the virtual platform. When asked if they prefer using the virtual platform for their visit, 70% of patients agreed or strongly agreed and only 16% of patients disagreed or strongly disagreed. In regards to potential advantages of a virtual visit, the Likert scores were averaged and ranked from most to least important with improved timeliness (3.7) and ease of scheduling into day (3.6) the highest rated advantages. Most patients did not find any concerns using the virtual platform, however the ability to see the provider in-person and connecting personally was of highest concern with an average Likert score of 2.3. Overall, 83% of patients agreed or strongly agreed that the multidisciplinary stone clinic satisfied their kidney stone related questions regarding treatment and prevention.

CONCLUSIONS: A virtual multidisciplinary kidney stone clinic can be implemented with high patient satisfaction scores and help overcome the limitations of physical clinic space and provider schedule coordination. There are few disadvantages to using the platform.

PMID:39507872 | PMC:PMC11535734 | DOI:10.21037/tau-24-248