Background Colonoscopy is a commonly performed procedure but most patients will not actually be found with colorectal cancer. Subsequent face-to-face consultations to explain post-colonoscopy findings are common despite the time and cost-saving benefits of teleconsultation, especially in a post-COVID-19 era. This exploratory retrospective study examined the proportion of post-colonoscopy follow-up consultations that could have been converted to teleconsultation within a tertiary hospital in Singapore. Methods A retrospective cohort of all patients who underwent colonoscopy in the institution from July to September 2019 was identified. All follow-up face-to-face consultations related to the index colonoscopy from the scope date to six months post-colonoscopy were traced. Clinical data relevant to the index colonoscopy and these consultations were extracted from electronic medical records. Results The cohort consisted of 859 patients (68.5% male, age range 18 – 96 years). Of these, 15 (1.7%) had colorectal cancer, but the majority (n = 643,74.9%) were scheduled for at least one post-colonoscopy visit – a total of 884 face-to-face clinical visits. The final sample was 682 (77.1%) face-to-face post-colonoscopy visits that did not involve any procedures performed, nor indicated the need for any subsequent follow-up. Conclusion If such “unnecessary” post-colonoscopy consultations exist within our institution, then similar situations possibly occur elsewhere. As COVID-19 continues to periodically tax healthcare systems worldwide, preservation of resources will remain integral alongside quality standards of routine patient care. There is a need for detailed analyses and modelling to hypothesise potential savings by also considering the start-up and maintenance costs of switching to a teleconsultation-dominated system.

The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel