Telehealth Applications Used in Perioperative Patient Care: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

Purpose: Monitoring patients outside the hospital through communication tools in perioperative care is becoming increasingly prevalent. This systematic review explores the evolving role of mobile applications in perioperative care, highlighting their current scope and impact.

Design: A systematic review.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov to identify articles published between January 1, 2012, and December 1, 2022. Only studies written in English that examined the use of telephone, email, teleconference, and a mobile health application in the perioperative setting (immediate preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative) were included. 54 full texts were evaluated.

Findings: Telehealth methods were used for preoperative patient preparation and postoperative patient follow-up. Telehealth was shown to improve patient compliance with the surgical process, save time and money, and improve access to health care services for patients living far from the hospital. The majority of studies also indicated that patients, caregivers, and health care professionals were satisfied with telehealth.

Conclusions: Telehealth methods continue to create a potential field in classical health care delivery. Although studies show the benefits of telehealth in the surgical process, further research is needed to optimize patient selection and technological infrastructure using these methods.