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Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Telemedicine can address healthcare disparities by improving access to care and eliminating barriers to in-office appointments. The primary goal of this study is to compare the number of completed telemedicine appointments to the number of completed in-office appointments for an OBGYN residency clinic during the early months of the COVID pandemic. The study also aims to evaluate patient demographics and types of visits performed using telemedicine. METHODS: All OBGYN residency clinic visits at a single institution from March 2020 – May 2020 were included and reviewed. Proportions of the visit type were evaluated for completion as well as the inability to complete the appointment through the telemedicine format. Information collected for the telemedicine visits includes the patient age, primary language spoken, and use of an interpreter during the visit. For patients who were a “no show” to a telemedicine appointment, appointments were reviewed to assess if the patient rescheduled or was lost to follow up. Overall appointment completion rates were compared between telemedicine and in-office visits using a Chi-squared test. RESULTS: Between March - May 2020, there were 598 telemedicine visits at the residency clinic, with 479 (80.1%) completed and 119 (19.9%) not completed. By comparison, in-office visits totaled 3,158 visits, with 78% (2,473) completed and 22% (685) not completed. Chi-squared test comparing telemedicine versus in office visits resulted in a non-significant p-value of 0.32. CONCLUSION: The overall visit completion rate between telemedicine and in-office visits from March - May 2020 was similar. The p-value comparing the completion rates was non-significant at 0.32, suggesting the telemedicine visit completion rate is comparable to in-office appointment completion rate.

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