JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Heart transplant selection committee meetings have transitioned from in-person to remote video meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic, but how this impacts committee members and patient outcomes is unknown.

Objective:

To determine perceived impact of remote video transplant selection meetings on usability and patient care and to measure patient selection outcomes during the transition period from in-person to virtual meetings.

Methods:

A 35-item anonymous survey was developed and distributed electronically to the heart transplant selection committee. We reviewed medical records to compare outcomes of patients presented at in-person meetings (January-March 2020) to those presented at video meetings (March-June 2020).

Results:

Among 83 committee members queried, 50 were regular attendees (48% physicians, 52% non-physicians), and 46 responses were received (50% physicians, 50% non-physicians) and included in the analysis. Overall, respondents were satisfied with the video conference format, felt that video meetings did not impact patient care and were an acceptable alternative to in-person meetings. However, 54% preferred in-person meetings, with 71% of non-physicians preferring in-person meetings compared to only 35% of physicians (P=.02). Of the 46 new patient evaluations presented, there was a statistically nonsignificant trend towards fewer patients initially declined at video meetings compared with in-person meetings (25% vs. 45%, P=.32).

Conclusions:

The transition from in-person to video heart transplant selection committee meetings was well-received and did not appear to affect committee members’ perceived ability to deliver patient care. Patient selection outcomes were similar between meeting modalities.