Health Information Technology Telemedicine Survey

Dear Colleague,

You are being asked to participate in a survey regarding current status and usage on telemedicine in surgical practice. The results of this survey will be utilized to assess the use of telemedicine by surgeons and create a sustainable strategy for use of telemedicine.

Please take a few minutes today to answer each question on the survey as completely and accurately as possible. Your responses will be processed confidentially and only group data will be reported.

Thank you for your contribution to this important survey.

Rifat Latifi, MD, FACS
Chair, Telemedicine Subcommittee of ACS, HIT Committee
Professor of Surgery
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

Andrew R. Watson, MD, MLitt, FACS
Chair, HIT Committee
Division of Colorectal Surgery
Medical Director, Telemedicine
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

The purpose of this survey is to gather information from the membership of the ACS regarding current opinions on telemedicine in surgical practice.

Question Title

* 1. Do you practice any form of telemedicine?

a. Yes (continue to next question)

b. No (skip to question 9)

Question Title

* 2. Do you have a telemedicine program in:

a. Your hospital

b. Your practice

c. Both, hospital and practice

d. None of the above

e. I do not know

Question Title

* 3. Please select the type of telemedicine program that best describes the use of telemedicine in your practice (you may choose more than one):

a. Teletrauma

b. Telesurgery

c. Tele-ICU

d. Tele-education

e. Telementoring

f. Telepresence

g. Teleconsultation

h. Telemedicine for burns and wound care

i. Telemedicine only for wound care

j. Telemedicine for surgical mission

k. Telemedicine for elective practice

l. Others (specify)

m. N/A

Question Title

* 4. Please tell us more details about the model you use for provision of telemedicine services:

a. Provides consults to offsite providers with patients present

b. Provides consults to offsite providers without patients present

c. Receives information from home monitoring

d. Mobile health communication via mobile devices

e. Other models (please specify)

Question Title

* 5. How many patient encounters do you see personally each year using telemedicine:

a. <10

b. 10-20

c. 21-50

d. 51-100

e. >100

Question Title

* 6. What kind of technology do you use? (you may select more than one choice):

a. Stationary telemedicine unit (mounted in the wall or in a special room)

b. Mobile telemedicine unit (cart)

c. Smartphones

d. iPods/iPads/Tablets

e. Laptop/Notebook

f. Robotics

g. Other (specify)________

Question Title

* 7. After a telemedicine visit, are the majority of your patients:

a. Very satisfied

b. Somewhat satisfied

c. Have mixed reviews

d. Neutral

e. Somewhat dissatisfied

f. Not satisfied

g. Do not know

Question Title

* 8. Is there any formally identified surgical leadership for the telemedicine program in your hospital / health system?

a. Yes, the leadership is a surgeon

b. No, the leadership is a physician (non-surgeon)

c. Telemedicine program is led by an RN

d. There is joint leadership including a surgeon

e. I do not know

f. Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 9. Do you know if any of your insurance providers cover telemedicine services?

a. Yes, all of them do

b. Yes, some of them do

c. None of them do

d. I do not know

Question Title

* 10. What do you see as the biggest challenge and/or barrier in providing telemedicine services in your practice? (You may select more than one choice):

a. Reimbursement from insurance companies

b. Fear of malpractice and legal responsibility

c. Lack of protocols and policies in my hospital/practice

d. Lack of infrastructure in my hospital/practice group

e. I do not have time for telemedicine

f. I do not think telemedicine is appropriate for surgical practice

g. My partners do not wish to do it

h. It is too expensive to set it up

i. It is too expensive to maintain it, as technology is changing rapidly

j. I do not understand telemedicine well enough to implement it

k. Existing evidence does not support adoption yet

Question Title

* 11. Which statement best describes your opinion of the future of telehealth and telemedicine in surgery:

a. Telemedicine is a passing fad and will have little impact on the practice of surgery in the next 10 years

b. Telemedicine is an interesting technology that will have a small impact on the practice of surgery in the next 10 years

c. Telemedicine is an important advance that will have a substantial impact on the practice of surgery in the next 10 years

d. Telemedicine is a paradigm changing development that will dramatically impact the practice of surgery in the next 10 years

Question Title

* 12. Should ACS establish practice guidelines for telemedicine to help surgeons in their practice:

a. Yes

b. No

c. I do not have an opinion

Question Title

* 13. Please check what type of telemedicine you would like to hear more about: (You may select more than one choice)

a. Teletrauma

b. Telesurgery

c. Tele-ICU

d. Tele-education

e. Telementoring

f. Telepresence

g. Teleconsultation

h. Telemedicine for burns and wound care

i. Telemedicine only for wound care

j. Telemedicine for surgical mission

k. Telemedicine for elective practice

l. Not interested in additional information at this time

Question Title

* 14. Would you like information about: (You may choose as many as you wish)

a. Legal aspects of use of telemedicine

b. Privileges and credentialing

c. Available technologies and how to set those up

d. Business aspects and how to get the return on investment

e. The cost of initial implementation

f. Patient acceptance of telemedicine

g. Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 15. How would you prefer to learn more about telemedicine?

a. At the ACS Clinical Congress telemedicine session

b. Through news letter from the HIT- telemedicine subcommittee

c. Through the ACS website

d. Articles in the Bulletin

e. Mass mailing to ACS membership

f. Webinars from vendors or thought leadership in the field

Question Title

* 16. Please tell us your age:

a. <30

b. 30-40

c. 41-50

d. 51-60

e. 61-70

f. >70

Question Title

* 17. What state is your practice located in?

State:

Question Title

* 18. Where do you practice?

a. Group practice (non-academic)

b. Group practice (academic)

c. University Hospital

d. Community hospital

e. Solo private practice

f. Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 19. How would you describe your practice settings and what patient population does it cover:

a. Urban setting

b. Rural setting

c. Suburban setting

d. Combination of above (please specify)

Question Title

* 20. What aspect of surgery do you practice? (you may choose more than one choice)

a. Acute Care and Trauma

b. Breast

c. Burns

d. Cardiac

e. Thoracic

f. Endocrine

g. Colorectal

h. General Surgery

i. Minimally invasive

j. Oncology

k. Pediatric

l. Plastic

m. Transplant

n. Vascular

o. Other (please specify)