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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04765683

Video, Telephone or Face-to-face Surgical Consultations: a Survey of Patients' and Surgeons' Views

This study will send out questionnaires to surgical outpatients and surgeons to gather their views on the appropriate type of surgical outpatient consultation in different clinical scenarios, in order to establish a guideline for surgical outpatient planning.

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Key information

Conditions

Surgery

Age range

16 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

Aberdeen, AB25 2ZN, United Kingdom

About this study

As above - this study will send out questionnaires to surgical outpatients and surgeons to gather their views on the appropriate type of surgical outpatient consultation in different clinical scenarios, in order to establish a guideline for surgical outpatient planning.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

PATIENTS

Adults attending general surgical outpatients in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary during the study period presenting with:

  • lumps and bumps
  • hernias
  • biliary problems
  • jaundice
  • abdominal pain/mass/weight loss
  • gastro-oesophageal reflux
  • dysphagia
  • change in bowel habit
  • anorectal problems
  • thyroid nodules
  • parathyroid disease
  • adrenal masses

SURGEONS

Consultant General Surgeons in NHS Grampian / Tayside and Highlands

Exclusion criteria

PATIENTS

  • lacking capacity
  • without language skills to answer questionnaires or ability to understand questionnaires
  • children < 16yrs (No upper age limit)
  • patients presenting as emergencies
  • patients unwilling to complete questionnaires.

SURGEONS

  • trainee surgeons.

Treatment and study plan

Questionnaire

Other

Survey of views on outpatient consultation format

Primary outcomes

  1. appropriate type of surgical outcome

    Time frame: June 2021

    What type of surgical outpatient consultation is appropriate for different clinical scenarios i.e. new patient, review patient, post-operative results, breaking bad news, cancer follow-up? This will be assessed by means of a Survey Monkey questionnaire sent out to surgeons in NHS Grampian / Highlands and Tayside and a different Survey Monkey questionnaire sent to patients attending surgical outpatients in NHS Grampian.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Are there any new surgical patients that can be seen or assessed by video or telephone consultation? Do remote consultations improve efficiency?

    Time frame: June 2021

    Analysis of the results of patient and surgeons' questionnaires will be undertaken to establish whether there are any types of new surgical patients that need not be seen face to face prior to the day of operation.

    Analysis of results from patient and surgeons' surveys will be undertaken to establish which type of surgical consultation (video, telephone or remote) is most appropriate in different clinical circumstances and this will be fed back to surgical outpatient department to assess impact on outpatient administration.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Aberdeen

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2021
Study completion
2021
First posted
Feb 21, 2021
Registry last updated
Aug 31, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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