Using an E-Health Application for Post-operative Monitoring After Inguinal Hernia Repair: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

Background: E-Health care is already well established in some (non-) surgical specialties and is considered as a means of improving patient-centred care. Considering the demand of remote health care changes, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to investigate the feasibility of e-Health care within one of the most performed surgery procedures: inguinal hernia repair. Methods: A total of 60 patients used the e-Health application in this study compliant. Primary objectives were to investigate the accuracy of the “deviating post-operative course” alerting by the e-Health application. Secondary objectives included patient perspective and e-Health costs analysis. Results: Forty-four patients reported no deviation in the post-operative course using the e-Health application of which 93.2% (n = 41) was in concordance with the findings during standard follow-up. Within 16 patients reporting a deviating post-operative course, a true complication was found in 25% (n = 4). Based on in-hospital costs, a hypothetical e-Health follow-up scenario was more expensive (€59.5 per patient) than current standard follow-up care (€28.2 per patient). Usage of the e-Health application showed a high perceived overall patient satisfaction: 4.2 (on a Likert-scale of 1–5). Conclusion: An e-Health application is a promising tool for identifying patients who require in-person or phone follow-up assessment. Patients’ perspectives surveys revealed high potential and willingness of using this application. A hypothetical e-Health follow-up scenario showed to be more expensive compared to current standard follow-up. If the identified (dis)advantages can be improved, e-Health follow-up care appears to be promising in terms of safety and feasibility. Future studies can leverage on this study and further investigate the use of e-Health within the field of general surgery.