Patient Satisfaction in the Era of COVID-19: Virtual Visit versus In-person Visit Satisfaction.

SIGNIFICANCE

Teleophthalmology became widely used during the coronavirus 2019 pandemic; however, the quality of this care remains to be understood.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to compare patient satisfaction levels from virtual and in-person visits based on post-visit surveys, as well as investigate demographic characteristics that may predict patient satisfaction with virtual visits.

METHODS

Virtual (n = 2943) and in-person (n = 56,175) visits from March 19, 2020, to July 31, 2020, were identified using the electronic health record system. For in-person visits, a random subset of 3000 visits was acquired using a random number generator. Of these, 2266 virtual and 2590 in-person visits met the inclusion criteria. Patients who completed the Telemedicine for Medical Practice Survey and Medical Practice Survey were analyzed in this report. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used to compare scores between groups.

RESULTS

Two hundred eleven virtual patients (9.31%; 82 phone, 115 video, 14 hybrid) and 307 in-person patients (11.85%) completed the Telemedicine for Medical Practice Survey and Medical Practice Survey, respectively. Satisfaction scores were similar and high in both groups-virtual visit satisfaction scores averaged 4.82, whereas in-person visit satisfaction averaged 4.85 (P = .80, θ = 0.501 [0.493 to 0.509]). Only one question yielded significantly different satisfaction scores, and no demographic variables were significant predictors of satisfaction scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Patient satisfaction is comparable between virtual and in-person visits, validating the continued usage of telemedicine for eye care visits.