Telehealth may make pre-surgery assessments more accessible for older adults

A UCLA-led team of researchers, including first author Cecilia Canales, MD, and co-Director of the Integrating Special Populations (ISP) Program,  Catherine Sarkisian MD, found that telehealth may be a practical alternative to in-person pre-surgery evaluations for older adults. Published in Anesthesiology, the study followed more than 300 adults age 65 and older and compared assessments conducted by video with those performed in person. These evaluations look for health concerns that can affect how well an older patient does during and after surgery, including memory problems, frailty, fall risk and difficulty with everyday activities.

Overall, telehealth and in-person assessments identified similar health risks, and patients had similar outcomes after surgery regardless of how their assessment was conducted. The findings suggest that offering these evaluations through telehealth could make important pre-surgery care more accessible, particularly for older adults who have difficulty traveling to medical appointments. 

The research was supported in part by the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). Dr. Canales is a former KL2 scholar.

Photo source: Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash.com

Photo caption: Doctor consults patient during a telehealth visit.