Kletečka-Pulker Maria, Völkl-Kernstock Sabine, Fassl Anna, Klager Elisabeth, Willschke Harald, Klomfar Sophie, Wochele-Thoma Thomas, Schaden Eva, Atanasov Atanas G
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital Health and Patient Safety, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Institute for Ethics and Law in Medicine, University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2-4, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Healthcare (Basel). 2021 Mar 4;9(3):280. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9030280.
With the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the world has been experiencing an extraordinary state of emergency. As patients entering a doctor's practice can potentially infect medical staff and other patients, using digital alternatives wherever possible is a potential solution to avoiding face-to-face encounters. In these conditions, telemedicine is becoming increasingly relevant. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine telemedicine use and gathered experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria.
In June 2020, a representative group of Austrian respondents ( = 1000) was asked via online survey whether they had contacted a doctor during spring of 2020, and, if so, whether they had used a telemedical method to do so. The survey also reflected gathered experiences and degrees of satisfaction with the use of telemedicine.
A third (33%) of those who contacted a doctor during the target period did so using telemedical tools. The majority of those with previous telehealth experience were satisfied with the help they received. Patients commonly used a telephone to contact their doctors. The overall assessment of telemedical aids tended to be positive, with more than half (53%) of those surveyed seeing significant advantages, and a 90% satisfaction rate among the respondents who used telehealth services.
The outcomes from this work hint at fairly high acceptance of telemedical communication tools in the studied group of the Austrian population. Based on the high rate of satisfaction among patients who used telehealth, it is expected that the use of telehealth services will increase further in the near future.
随着2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的传播，世界正经历着一种特殊的紧急状态。由于进入医生诊所的患者可能会感染医护人员和其他患者，尽可能使用数字替代方案是避免面对面接触的一个潜在解决方案。在这种情况下，远程医疗变得越来越重要。因此，本研究的目的是调查奥地利在COVID-19大流行期间远程医疗的使用情况并收集相关经验。
2020年6月，通过在线调查询问了一组具有代表性的奥地利受访者（n = 1000），他们在2020年春季是否联系过医生，如果是，他们是否使用了远程医疗方法。该调查还反映了使用远程医疗的经验和满意度。
在目标期间联系过医生的受访者中有三分之一（33%）使用了远程医疗工具。大多数有过远程医疗经验的人对所获得的帮助感到满意。患者通常使用电话联系他们的医生。对远程医疗辅助工具的总体评价趋于积极，超过一半（53%）的受访者认为有显著优势，使用远程医疗服务的受访者满意度为90%。
这项工作的结果表明，在所研究的奥地利人群中，远程医疗通信工具的接受度相当高。基于使用远程医疗的患者的高满意度，预计在不久的将来，远程医疗服务的使用将进一步增加。
