Department of Family Medicine, The Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Maternity Care, The Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.
PLoS One. 2023 Oct 17;18(10):e0293089. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293089. eCollection 2023.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare organizations had to face challenging circumstances and modify the usual modality of service provision, introducing telehealth services in their routine patient care to lessen the risk of direct human-to-human exposure. Patients expressed concerns about personal visits to healthcare units and the possibility of accessing telemedicine turned out to be an effective tool for the continuity of care. Due to the limited experience with telemedicine before the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, we sought to fill this gap by studying the experiences of Polish patients. Our study aimed to understand how patients define satisfaction and dissatisfaction with telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic in primary care.
Twenty semi-structured interviews with primary care patients in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland were conducted to understand satisfaction with telemedicine. Interview transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The qualitative content analysis process involved familiarizing ourselves with the data, extracting text regarding satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the teleconsultation, condensing it into meaningful units assigning codes to them, and organizing codes into subcategories and categories. The entire analysis process was done through reflection and discussion until a consensus was reached between the researchers.
From the participants' perspective, satisfaction with telemedicine was associated with receiving enough space to express their concerns. It was reported that they trusted their primary care physicians and felt comfortable during telemedicine consultations. Participants noted that connecting with a known, trusted doctor was more important than having a face-to-face visit with an unfamiliar physician. In our study, the participants equated satisfaction with treatment effectiveness. It was emphasized that in the event of unknown or unstable conditions, patients would prefer to be seen in person and receive a physical examination.
In our research telemedicine met with a positive reception and was recognized by the majority of patients who made use of it as a valuable channel of contact with a primary care physician. In order to increase the level of patient satisfaction, the focus should be on improving aspects such as physician engagement and showing empathy during telemedicine, as well as providing complete, exhaustive information on the treatment process. Respecting patient needs and preferences during performing telemedicine visits is the goal of patient-centered care.
由于 COVID-19 大流行，医疗机构不得不面对具有挑战性的情况，并改变通常的服务提供模式，在常规患者护理中引入远程医疗服务，以降低直接人际接触的风险。患者对前往医疗机构就诊表示担忧，而远程医疗的可能性被证明是延续护理的有效工具。由于在波兰 COVID-19 大流行之前远程医疗的经验有限，我们试图通过研究波兰患者的经验来填补这一空白。我们的研究旨在了解在初级保健中，患者如何定义对远程医疗的满意和不满意。
在波兰波德拉谢省进行了 20 次初级保健患者的半结构式访谈，以了解对远程医疗的满意度。使用定性内容分析法分析访谈记录。定性内容分析过程包括熟悉数据、提取关于远程咨询满意度和不满意度的文本、将其浓缩为有意义的单位、为其分配代码、并将代码组织成子类别和类别。整个分析过程通过反思和讨论进行，直到研究人员达成共识。
从参与者的角度来看，对远程医疗的满意度与获得足够的空间来表达他们的担忧有关。据报道，他们信任他们的初级保健医生，并且在远程医疗咨询中感到舒适。参与者注意到，与熟悉、信任的医生联系比与不熟悉的医生进行面对面访问更重要。在我们的研究中，参与者将满意度等同于治疗效果。他们强调，在未知或不稳定的情况下，他们更愿意亲自就诊并接受身体检查。
在我们的研究中，远程医疗受到了大多数患者的欢迎，他们将其视为与初级保健医生联系的有价值的渠道。为了提高患者的满意度水平，应关注改善远程医疗期间医生的参与度和同理心，以及提供关于治疗过程的完整、详尽信息。在进行远程医疗访问时尊重患者的需求和偏好是患者为中心护理的目标。
