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Background:. Telemedicine services experienced unprecedented growth during the coronavirus 2019 pandemic, offering patients remote access to care while minimizing exposures to possible infection. Our institution has one of the country’s largest pediatric plastic surgery divisions and serves both a prominent metro area and sprawling rural community. Given the increasing utilization of telemedicine across several surgical subspecialties, this study aims to evaluate patient satisfaction following pediatric plastic surgery telemedicine encounters. Methods:. Press Ganey surveys were completed by parents or guardians of pediatric plastic surgery patients after in-person or telemedicine encounters with a single surgeon. Surveys were gathered from March 2020 to December 2022. Only 13 of the 25 survey questions were applicable to both in-person and telemedicine encounters and were included for analysis. Top box scores (the proportion of patients who selected the highest rating) were compared using Fisher exact test. Results:. Completed surveys were available for both groups from June 2020 to November 2022. A total of 223 surveys met inclusion criteria; there were 159 in-person encounters and 64 telemedicine encounters. Telemedicine encounters consistently had top box scores comparable to, or greater than, in-person encounters for all 13 survey questions. Statistically significant differences were observed for ease of contacting the practice (P = 0.002) and scheduling appointments (P < 0.0001). Conclusions:. Pediatric plastic surgery encounters completed via telemedicine demonstrate high patient satisfaction, exceeding in-person encounters for accessibility and convenience. Our study provides objective data about the patient experience and emphasizes the value of integrating telemedicine into pediatric plastic surgery practices.

Background:. Geographic information systems are powerful tools for characterizing the geospatial factors influencing access to care. As patients with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) require long-term care, with numerous operations and therapies, access to timely, quality care is extremely important. This study uses population level analysis and geographic information systems to identify United States counties with limited access to American Cleft Palate Association–approved cleft teams. Methods:. Natality data were queried from the National Vital Statistics System. Population and geographic data were obtained from the US Census Bureau. The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) was utilized to account for social inequality. Total births with CL/P, population estimates, SVI, distance to the nearest center, and total centers within 50 km were used to generate the cleft care demand index (CCDI). Results:. Ninety-two counties had CCDIs between 66.7 and 100. The highest scoring county, Hidalgo County, Texas, had 62 births with CL/P, population estimate of 888,367 persons, distance to the nearest cleft center of 368.4 km, and SVI of 0.99. Conclusions:. This study demonstrates the power of geographic information systems for identifying areas with limited access to approved cleft teams. The CCDI measures cleft burden, socioeconomic disadvantage, and geographic barriers to quantify the demand for approved cleft care in each county. Utilizing these scores can help direct future interventions, outreach efforts, and cleft care center planning.