Outpatient Virtual Visits and the "Right" Amount of Telehealth Going Forward.
Telemed J E Health
; 27(12): 1372-1378, 2021 12.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33794123
ABSTRACT
Background:
An exponential increase in outpatient telehealth visits occurred early in the pandemic period that has been followed by volumes that, although lower than peak numbers, are substantially greater than the pre-pandemic period. This provided an opportunity to assess provider perceptions regarding the right prevalence going forward and key obstacles to achieving it.Methods:
A 10-question survey was distributed to all outpatient providers within the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System. Domains included practice location, specialty, professional degree, experience with telehealth, satisfaction, perception of the amount of telehealth that could be adequately delivered going forward, role of audio-only, and obstacles.Results:
Three hundred thirty-six providers completed the survey representing 51 specialties. The most common response regarding the proportion of outpatient visits that could be delivered by video going forward was 21-50% (n = 104) followed by 6-20% (n = 99) and >50% (n = 71). A minority of respondents chose ≤5% (n = 17). In terms of the fraction of video visits for which phone was equally effective, a similar percentage of respondents felt that it was 1/10 (22%), 1/4 (20%), or 1/2 (26%) of visits. Fewer felt that all (7%) or 3/4 (15%) of visits were equally effective, and 10% felt that it was none. Common obstacles identified were the need for a physical exam, unique aspects of providers' patients, patient preference, and issues regarding technology and internet speed/connectivity.Conclusions:
After a period of exponential growth in virtual visits due to the pandemic, outpatient providers within an academic health system felt that a substantial portion of future visits could be delivered by this modality.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Pacientes Ambulatoriais
/
Telemedicina
Tipo de estudo:
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Telemed J E Health
Assunto da revista:
INFORMATICA MEDICA
/
SERVICOS DE SAUDE
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos