Clinical Outcomes and Hospital Utilization Among Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery With Telemedicine Preoperative Care

Key Points Question Can fully remote patient evaluation be utilized in bariatric surgery with equivalent patient outcomes and hospital utilization as compared with in-person patient evaluation? Findings In this cohort study of 1182 patients treated at a US academic hospital, clinical outcomes and postoperative hospital utilization in the telemedicine group were found to be noninferior to those in the in-person group. Meaning These results suggest that telemedicine may provide more accessibility and flexibility to patients receiving preoperative care for bariatric surgery.

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