Patient-centered communication after surgery can enhance patient satisfaction and reduce unplanned clinical contact. However, patients information needs following kidney stone surgery are not well-understood, limiting quality improvement efforts. We aimed to characterize patient-reported needs in and preferences for postoperative communication following kidney stone surgery.
Patients undergoing common stone procedures were surveyed about the content, volume, and satisfaction with the communication they received after surgery. Patients indicated which information resources they consulted and found most helpful to address their postoperative care questions.
Among 52 patients, the majority (75%) identified varying degrees of deficiencies in the communication they received after surgery. Regarding content, respondents were most interested in understanding how their surgery went (90%), the plan for follow-up care (85%), and the specific location of their stone (85%). Regarding volume, respondents consistently indicated interest in intra-operative findings (stone appearance and location) and postoperative care (stent symptoms and location) but the majority did not recall receiving enough information. To address their questions after surgery, respondents most commonly consulted their urologist (71%), discharge paperwork (42%), electronic health record (27%), and the person with whom their urologist spoke after surgery (25%); among these, the majority (54%) reported that their urologist was the single most helpful source of information.
Following kidney stone surgery, patients report unmet communication needs related to specific intraoperative findings and follow-up care. Patients indicate high levels of satisfaction with urologist-provided resources. These exploratory findings support quality improvement efforts to optimize delivery of effective, patient-centered communication after surgery.
Urology practice. 2024 Sep 20 [Epub ahead of print]
Mitchell M Huang, Jared S Winoker, Mohamad E Allaf, Brian R Matlaga, Kevin Koo
Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois., Smith Institute of Urology at Lenox Hill Hospital, Northwell Health, New York, New York., Department of Urology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland., Department of Urology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.