Brown Wendy, Schmitz Tara, Scott David M, Friesner Daniel
Department of Pharmacy Practice, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA.
Tara's Thrifty White Pharmacy, Oakes, ND, USA.
J Patient Exp. 2017 Mar;4(1):46-49. doi: 10.1177/2374373516685952. Epub 2017 Jan 31.
Telehealth services are becoming increasingly used to provide care to patients living in rural areas. Little is known about the patient satisfaction with the provision of these services.
A prospective cohort pilot study was developed to evaluate the use of telehealth for the delivery of asthma education services in the rural, medically underserved community of Oakes, North Dakota. A certified asthma educator used real-time, audio-visual telehealth technology to meet with patients the local community pharmacy. Patients met with the educator monthly for the first three months of the study, and once every three months thereafter. Patient satisfaction was measured using a five item survey.
Eighteen patients completed the study (90 percent completion rate). Patient satisfaction scores were relatively high, typically between 4 and 5 on a 5-point scale.
Participants in a rural, medically underserved community found the community pharmacy location and the telehealth technology a convenient means to access a specialty provider for asthma education.
远程医疗服务越来越多地用于为农村地区的患者提供护理。对于这些服务的提供，患者满意度知之甚少。
开展了一项前瞻性队列试点研究，以评估在北达科他州奥克斯农村医疗服务不足社区使用远程医疗提供哮喘教育服务的情况。一名认证哮喘教育工作者使用实时视听远程医疗技术与当地社区药房的患者会面。在研究的前三个月，患者每月与教育工作者会面一次，此后每三个月会面一次。使用五项调查来衡量患者满意度。
18名患者完成了研究（完成率为90%）。患者满意度得分相对较高，通常在5分制的4至5分之间。
农村医疗服务不足社区的参与者发现，社区药房地点和远程医疗技术是获得哮喘教育专科提供者的便捷途径。
