During the COVID-19 pandemic, remote healthcare has often been the only possible form of non-emergent care provision to patients. Estimates point to an 8,729% increase in video visit use during the pandemic as compared to during the same period last year (1). As a result, remote health now represents the new norm – prompting differing reactions across patients in terms of satisfaction levels.
A number of studies found that patients were overall satisfied with remote health visits. A recent survey of patients in the Cleveland Clinic Health system found that 80% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that their virtual visit was as good as an in-person visit, with the majority (53.2%) even reflecting that the experience outperformed an in-person visit (2). Overall, 93.3% of patients indicated that the platform was easy to use during their visit, while 95.8% reported that they felt comfortable using the technology. Another study found that video visits and the COVID-19 period were associated with high overall patient satisfaction; however, younger age and female gender were linked to lower levels of patient satisfaction (1). Telehealth use for chronic disease treatment, such as for HIV treatment (3) or post-operative physical therapy (4), has also produced outcomes similar to those of in-person services. Finally, a recent cross-sectional study focused on a rigorous time and cost analysis in urgent care settings demonstrated found significantly better cost- and time-associated outcomes with virtual visits (5).
In contrast, a handful of studies have found evidence of poor patient satisfaction with remote health visits. In particular, one study of patient experience in a virtual otolaryngology clinic as compared to an in-person visit found that significantly worse virtual visit evaluations of provider listening, information transmission, and overall provider ratings compared to in-person visits (6). In general, however, overall patient satisfaction with video visits remains high and supports greater utilization of remote health visits.
In order to improve patient satisfaction, it is worth focusing on improving the provision of remote services, especially with regard to the aspects that appear most important to patients. This includes, for example, the prevention of future health issues, providing the patient with full and exhaustive information on their treatment, detailing further diagnostic and treatment procedures, and compassionately addressing the impact of a patient’s condition on their personal and family life. It is also critical to implement the provision of remote services in combination with outpatient appointments, in the form of a hybrid healthcare model (7). Additional policy reforms need to be carried out to expand the use of virtual care among target populations to reduce costs, improve access, meet the needs of patients, and, as a result, minimize unnecessary emergency department visits (5). Furthermore, standardized assessment protocols should be undertaken when assessing patient satisfaction; as both are likely to influence patient satisfaction, evaluations of virtual visits should include assessments both of the technology used and patient-clinician engagement.
In conclusion, remote healthcare should continue to be investigated in order to come up with the best possible patient-centered approach while developing a reliable research tool that takes into account the multi-dimensional facets of patient satisfaction. Further in-depth research comparing visit quality indicators is thus warranted to guide and implement the widespread adoption of telemedicine.
References
1. Ramaswamy, A. et al. Patient satisfaction with telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: Retrospective cohort study. J. Med. Internet Res. (2020). doi:10.2196/20786
2. Rose, S. et al. Patient experience in virtual visits hinges on technology and the patient-clinician relationship: A large survey study with open-ended questions. J. Med. Internet Res. (2021). doi:10.2196/18488
3. Lawal, F. J., Omotayo, M. O., Lee, T. J., Srinivasa Rao, A. S. R. & Vazquez, J. A. HIV Treatment Outcomes in Rural Georgia Using Telemedicine. Open Forum Infect. Dis. (2021). doi:10.1093/ofid/ofab234
4. Horton, B. S., Marland, J. D., West, H. S. & Wylie, J. D. Transition to Telehealth Physical Therapy After Hip Arthroscopy for Femoroacetabular Impingement: A Pilot Study With Retrospective Matched-Cohort Analysis. Orthop. J. Sport. Med. (2021). doi:10.1177/2325967121997469
5. Khairat, S. et al. Evaluation of Patient Experience During Virtual and In-Person Urgent Care Visits: Time and Cost Analysis. J. Patient Exp. (2021). doi:10.1177/2374373520981487
6. Itamura, K. et al. Comparison of Patient Satisfaction Between Virtual Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic and In-person Visits Pre-pandemic. Ann. Otol. Rhinol. Laryngol. (2021). doi:10.1177/0003489420977766
7. Hawrysz, L., Gierszewska, G. & Bitkowska, A. The research on patient satisfaction with remote healthcare prior to and during the covid-19 pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health (2021). doi:10.3390/ijerph18105338
