Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
View from the Patient Perspective: Mixed-Methods Analysis of Post-Discharge Virtual Visits in a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Virtual visits (VVs) are being used increasingly to provide patient-centered care and have undergone rapid uptake during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to compare satisfaction and convenience of virtual post-discharge follow-up for surgical patients and qualitatively analyze free-text survey responses in a randomized controlled noninferiority trial. Patient satisfaction with VVs has not been evaluated previously in a randomized controlled trial and few mixed-methods analyses have been done to understand barriers and facilitators to post-discharge visits. ⋯ We found that quality of, and access to, care-whether in person or virtual-remained critical components of patient satisfaction. VVs address many barriers associated with in-person visits and were more convenient, but can present additional technological barriers.