Perception and Attitude toward Teleconsultations among Different Healthcare Professionals in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Teleconsultation has become one of the most important and sometimes the only possible forms of communication between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The perceptions and attitudes of HCPs to teleconsultations may affect the quality of the therapeutic p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2022-09, Vol.19 (18), p.11532
Main Authors: Grata-Borkowska, Urszula, Sobieski, Mateusz, Drobnik, Jarosław, Fabich, Ewa, Bujnowska-Fedak, Maria Magdalena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitude
Attitudes
Computerized physician order entry
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
Health care
Health care facilities
Health services
Humans
Medical personnel
Medical referrals
Midwifery
Normal distribution
Nurses
Pandemics
Paramedics
Patients
Perception
Physicians
Professionals
Questionnaires
Remote Consultation
Telemedicine
Variables
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Summary:Teleconsultation has become one of the most important and sometimes the only possible forms of communication between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The perceptions and attitudes of HCPs to teleconsultations may affect the quality of the therapeutic process provided using them. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the attitudes to and perceptions of medical teleconsultation among various HCPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from a dedicated questionnaire on preferences, attitudes, and opinions about teleconsultation, which was filled by 780 Polish HCPs. Most of the HCPs were doctors and nurses (69% and 19%, respectively); most of the doctors were family physicians (50.1%). During the pandemic, teleconsultation and face-to-face contact were reported as the preferred methods of providing medical services with similar frequency. Doctors and nurses displayed the most positive attitude toward teleconsultation while the paramedics and physiotherapists took the least positive view of it. The most frequently indicated ratio of the optimal number of teleconsultations to in-person visits in primary health facilities care was 20%:80%. Most HCPs appreciate the value of teleconsultation, and more than half of them are willing to continue this form of communication with the patient when necessary or desirable.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph191811532