Abdel Nasser Asmaa, Mohammed Alzahrani Razan, Aziz Fellah Chaimaa, Muwafak Jreash Dimah, Talea A Almuwallad Norah, Salem A Bakulka Dunya, Abdel Ra'oof Abed Rabab
Medical Education Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, EGY.
Medical Education Unit, Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, Jeddah, SAU.
Cureus. 2021 Feb 16;13(2):e13382. doi: 10.7759/cureus.13382.
Background Many studies have found that telemedicine and telehealth services quality and patients' clinical outcomes, following telehealth visits, maybe comparable to those of traditional face-to-face office visits especially in a crisis like COVID-19 complete lockdown. Objective This study aimed to identify the patient's experience in using the telemedicine strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic and assess these patients' perception about their experience of using telemedicine in Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional survey study was done on 425 patients treated through telemedicine programs in Saudi Arabia from February to August 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire was adopted and modified to elicit participants' socio-demographic data, participants' satisfaction and attitude toward telehealth and telemedicine, and their views on health care services. Results About 84.9% of the participants thought that telemedicine made healthcare easier during the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost half of the respondent was very satisfied with the ease of registration (52%), while 43.4% of respondents stated that they had the ability to talk freely over telemedicine. In the present study, The highest satisfaction was reported by 53.4% of respondents for ease registration, 40.1% for quality of the visual image, 41.9% for quality of the audio sound, and 44.8% for their ability to talk freely over telemedicine, respectively. The highest satisfaction was reported by 40.5% about the ability to understand the recommendations, 40.5% about the overall quality of care provided, 37.4% about the overall telemedicine consult experience. The results revealed a significant positive correlation between satisfaction and attitude scores. Conclusion This study revealed acceptable satisfaction and attitude of patients toward telemedicine programs in Saudi Arabia. However, more effort should be done by the Saudi Ministry of Health to increase the knowledge of patients about teleconsultation available services.
许多研究发现，远程医疗服务的质量以及远程医疗就诊后的患者临床结果，可能与传统面对面门诊就诊相当，尤其是在像新冠疫情全面封锁这样的危机时期。
本研究旨在确定患者在新冠疫情期间使用远程医疗策略的体验，并评估沙特阿拉伯这些患者对其使用远程医疗体验的看法。
在沙特阿拉伯新冠疫情期间，于2020年2月至8月对425名通过远程医疗项目接受治疗的患者进行了一项横断面调查研究。采用并修改了一份在线问卷，以获取参与者的社会人口统计学数据、参与者对远程医疗和远程健康的满意度及态度，以及他们对医疗服务的看法。
约84.9%的参与者认为远程医疗在新冠疫情期间使医疗保健变得更便捷。近一半的受访者对注册的便捷性非常满意（52%），而43.4%的受访者表示他们能够在远程医疗中自由交谈。在本研究中，分别有53.4%的受访者对注册便捷性、40.1%对视觉图像质量、41.9%对音频质量以及44.8%对他们在远程医疗中自由交谈的能力满意度最高。对理解建议的能力满意度最高的为40.5%，对所提供护理的总体质量满意度最高的为40.5%，对远程医疗咨询总体体验满意度最高的为37.4%。结果显示满意度与态度得分之间存在显著正相关。
本研究表明沙特阿拉伯患者对远程医疗项目的满意度和态度尚可。然而，沙特卫生部应做出更多努力，以提高患者对远程会诊可用服务的了解。
