Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland School of Medicine, Busaiteen, Bahrain.
Menopause. 2021 Dec 6;29(2):184-188. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001906.
We aimed to evaluate patient satisfaction with telephone appointments during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, determine visit type preference (in-person vs telephone), and predictors of those preferences.
In this cross-sectional study, patient visits during the first wave of COVID-19 (March 20 to July 15, 2020) were characterized (in-person vs telephone) in a single provider's weekly menopause clinic in Toronto, Canada. Patients attending telephone appointments were asked to complete a modified Telemedicine Satisfaction Questionnaire with 5-point Likert-scale responses. Demographic information was collected along with the patient-reported cost to attend an in-person appointment (monetary, travel time, and time away from work). Of those who experienced both visit types, preference was evaluated and bivariate analysis was performed identifying factors associated with visit type preference and included in a multivariable binary logistic regression model.
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, 214 women had 246 visits, attending mostly by telephone (221/246, 90%). Mean Telemedicine Satisfaction Questionnaire composite score was 4.23 ± 0.72. Of those who attended a prepandemic in-person appointment (118/139, 85%), a minority (24/118, 20%) preferred in-person visits. Those favoring in-person were more likely to commute less than 30 minutes (OR 3.78, 95% CI 1.16-12.29, P = 0.027), require less than 2 hours away from work (OR 4.05, 95% CI 1.07-15.4, P = 0.04), and spend less than $10 to attend (OR 3.67, 95% CI 1.1-12.26, P = 0.035).
Menopause clinic telephone appointments had high patient satisfaction, with most preferring this visit type, although in-person visits are preferred among a minority of women.
我们旨在评估 COVID-19 大流行第一波期间患者对电话预约的满意度，确定就诊类型偏好（面对面或电话），并预测这些偏好的影响因素。
在这项横断面研究中，我们对加拿大多伦多一位医生每周的更年期诊所的 COVID-19 大流行第一波期间的就诊情况（面对面或电话）进行了描述。参加电话预约的患者需要使用改良的远程医疗满意度问卷（5 分李克特量表）进行评分。同时收集患者报告的面对面就诊费用（货币、交通时间和工作时间损失）以及人口统计学信息。对于那些体验过两种就诊类型的患者，我们评估了他们的就诊类型偏好，并进行了二元分析，以确定与就诊类型偏好相关的因素，并将其纳入多变量二项逻辑回归模型。
在 COVID-19 大流行的第一波期间，有 214 名女性进行了 246 次就诊，大多数为电话就诊（221/246，90%）。远程医疗满意度问卷综合评分的平均值为 4.23±0.72。在那些参加过大流行前面对面就诊的患者中（118/139，85%），少数（24/118，20%）更喜欢面对面就诊。那些更喜欢面对面就诊的患者更有可能通勤时间少于 30 分钟（比值比 3.78，95%置信区间 1.16-12.29，P=0.027），需要离开工作岗位不到 2 小时（比值比 4.05，95%置信区间 1.07-15.4，P=0.04），并且花费不到 10 美元参加就诊（比值比 3.67，95%置信区间 1.1-12.26，P=0.035）。
更年期诊所的电话预约获得了患者的高度满意度，大多数患者更喜欢这种就诊类型，尽管少数女性更喜欢面对面就诊。
