Neurosurg Focus. 2022 Jun;52(6):E5. doi: 10.3171/2022.3.FOCUS2247.
The adoption of telemedicine became a necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic because patients found commuting to be difficult owing to travel restrictions. Initially, audio-based teleconsultations were provided. Later, on the basis of the feedback of patients and caregivers, the authors started to provide video-based teleconsultations via WhatsApp. The authors subsequently surveyed the patients and caregivers to determine their satisfaction levels with telemedicine services.
An anonymized telephone survey of patients who had participated in teleconsultation was conducted with a structured questionnaire. The responses were analyzed and their correlations with the perceived benefits and limitations of audio and video teleconsultation were determined.
Three hundred respondents were included in the first round of surveys, of whom 250 (83.3%) consented to video teleconsultation. Among the respondents who participated in both audio and video teleconsultations (n = 250), paired analysis showed that video teleconsultation was perceived as better in terms of providing easier access to healthcare services (p < 0.001), saving time (p < 0.001), and satisfaction with the way patient needs were conveyed to healthcare providers (p = 0.023), as well as in terms of adequacy of addressing healthcare needs (p < 0.001) and consequently providing a higher rate of overall satisfaction (p < 0.001). For both audio and video teleconsultation, overall patient satisfaction was significantly related to only previous exposure to WhatsApp. However, for video consultation, longer call duration (p = 0.023) was an important independent factor. Video teleconsultation was preferable to face-to-face consultation irrespective of educational status, but higher education was associated with preference for video teleconsultation.
Both audio and video teleconsultation are viable cost-effective surrogates for in-person physical neurosurgical consultation. Although audio teleconsultation is more user-friendly and is not restricted by educational status, video teleconsultation trumps the former owing to a more efficient and satisfactory doctor-to-patient interface.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，由于出行限制，患者感到通勤困难，远程医疗的采用成为必要。最初提供基于音频的远程咨询。后来，根据患者和护理人员的反馈，作者开始通过 WhatsApp 提供基于视频的远程咨询。作者随后对患者和护理人员进行了调查，以确定他们对远程医疗服务的满意度。
对参与远程咨询的患者进行了匿名电话调查，并使用结构化问卷进行了调查。对答复进行了分析，并确定了它们与对音频和视频远程咨询的感知益处和局限性的相关性。
在第一轮调查中，有 300 名受访者，其中 250 名（83.3%）同意进行视频远程咨询。在参加音频和视频远程咨询的受访者中（n = 250），配对分析表明，视频远程咨询在提供更便捷的医疗服务获取途径（p < 0.001）、节省时间（p < 0.001）、以及对患者需求传达给医疗保健提供者的方式的满意度（p = 0.023）方面，以及在满足医疗保健需求的充分性（p < 0.001）方面，从而提供更高的整体满意度（p < 0.001）方面，都被认为更好。对于音频和视频远程咨询，患者的整体满意度仅与以前使用 WhatsApp 有关。但是，对于视频咨询，通话时间较长（p = 0.023）是一个重要的独立因素。无论教育程度如何，视频咨询都比面对面咨询更受欢迎，但接受过高等教育的人更倾向于选择视频咨询。
音频和视频远程咨询都是可行的、具有成本效益的替代面对面的神经外科咨询。虽然音频远程咨询更用户友好，不受教育程度限制，但由于与患者的医生界面更高效和更令人满意，因此视频远程咨询优于前者。
