Telehealth Utilization to Improve the General Surgery Patient Care Experience

Abstract Patient satisfaction and quality of care are key components of the patient experience. A quality improvement project was conducted to evaluate whether the addition of a nurse practitioner-led telehealth visit reduced the number of unplanned contacts by postoperative patients within the general surgery department. Although the number of unplanned contacts did not decrease, survey data revealed patients were highly satisfied with the telehealth experience. This project provided insight into the common problem areas in postoperative patients. This information can be used to target preoperative teaching to improve the patient experience.