Elhakeem Israa, Iqbal Phool, Nashwan Abdulqadir J, Abubakar Muhammad, Jawad Arsalan T, AlHiyari Mousa A, Chandra Prem, Osman Maab A, Mohamad Sara S, Alkhatib Mohammed, Yassin Mohamed A
Medical Education Hamad Medical Corporation Doha Qatar.
Hematology/Oncology Department Hamad Medical Corporation Doha Qatar.
Health Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 29;5(6):e883. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.883. eCollection 2022 Nov.
The coronavirus-19 is an ongoing global pandemic resulting in millions of deaths worldwide. For a patient population at higher risk of infection, telemedicine is a promising means of providing safe and alternative care routes while minimizing their risk of exposure. This study gives insight into patients' experiences and satisfaction with telemedicine during this pandemic.
We conducted a cross-sectional study on 297 patients (RR: 85%) at the National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR), Qatar. Data was collected through electronic medical records of the eligibe patient population, and phone calls were made whereby the physician read a standard introductory script followed by a survey questionnaire. We focused on patients' experience with telemedicine services amid the pandemic. This was done using a six-point Likert scoring system of seven questions that were scaled from 1 to 6.
More than 80% of patients somewhat to strongly agreed that telemedicine met their healthcare needs, improved their confidence in their healthcare system, and were generally satisfied with the quality of care provided. Nearly all patients (90%) understood their physicians' recommendations over the phone. In addition, more than half of the patients (89%) felt they could freely communicate their concerns. Patients also showed an inclination towards face-to-face consultations at 68%; however, 90% were willing to participate in future teleconsultations.
Our study indicates an overall positive experience among patients towards the use of telemedicine. Telemedicine is a safe, futuristic approach toward patient care management and, thus, provides healthcare professionals a platform to implement further patient and physician education. Even though our data also showed that patients liked in-person visits to some degree, this needs to be looked into more in future studies.
新型冠状病毒肺炎是一场持续的全球大流行疾病，已在全球造成数百万例死亡。对于感染风险较高的患者群体而言，远程医疗是一种很有前景的方式，可提供安全的替代护理途径，同时将其暴露风险降至最低。本研究深入了解了患者在此次大流行期间对远程医疗的体验和满意度。
我们对卡塔尔国家癌症护理与研究中心（NCCCR）的297名患者（回复率：85%）进行了一项横断面研究。数据通过符合条件的患者群体的电子病历收集，并通过电话进行，医生先宣读一份标准的介绍性文稿，然后进行调查问卷。我们重点关注了大流行期间患者对远程医疗服务的体验。这是通过对七个问题采用从1到6的六点李克特评分系统来完成的。
超过80%的患者或多或少强烈同意远程医疗满足了他们的医疗需求，增强了他们对医疗系统的信心，并且总体上对所提供的护理质量感到满意。几乎所有患者（90%）都理解了医生通过电话给出的建议。此外，超过一半的患者（89%）觉得他们能够自由表达自己的担忧。68%的患者也表现出对面对面咨询的倾向；然而，90%的患者愿意参加未来的远程会诊。
我们的研究表明患者对使用远程医疗总体体验良好。远程医疗是一种安全、面向未来的患者护理管理方法，因此为医疗保健专业人员提供了一个实施进一步患者和医生教育的平台。尽管我们的数据还表明患者在一定程度上喜欢面对面就诊，但这需要在未来的研究中进一步探讨。
