Telehealth for consultation and shoulder rehabilitation: a preliminary study on the perspectives of 30 patients during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Background: This study aimed to determine: the perspectives of the patient cohort that underwent telehealth consultation and shoulder rehabilitation during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the differences in the patients' perspectives with the two different telehealth video applications (apps) used in the study.

Methods: This is a prospective study carried out during the COVID lockdown period of April to July 2020. Thirty consecutive patients from the orthopedics department of a tertiary institute in India underwent their first-ever session of a video app-based (Zoom or WhatsApp) telehealth consultation with shoulder rehabilitation exercises on a handheld mobile, tablet, or laptop device. After the virtual consultation, the patients were sent a validated telehealth usability questionnaire (TUQ) to evaluate their perspectives. Scores obtained from the TUQ were the primary outcome measure.

Results: The study was completed by 30 patients (16 men and 14 women) with an average age of 56 years (range, 20-77 years). The patients who contacted us during the lockdown period with either a stiff shoulder or a conservatively treated shoulder fracture were included in the study. The average TUQ score was 13.6 (median, 14.5; range, 6-21) out of a maximum of 21 points. Eighty percent of the patients were satisfied and found the telehealth service useful. Use of the Zoom app scored significantly higher (median, 17; average, 15.6) than the WhatsApp app (median, 8.5; average, 9.6) (p=0.004).

Conclusions: Patients who received telehealth consultation and shoulder rehabilitation were overall satisfied. Telehealth apps with advanced video calling features such as Zoom should be preferred for higher patient satisfaction.