Acceptance of telemedicine by kidney transplant recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey study of patient experiences

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 has motivated unprecedented changes to telemedicine including kidney transplant patient care. Telemedicine with this population is not well described. We assessed the comfort and experience of post-kidney transplant patients with telemedicine versus an in-person visit using a 16-question survey between March and June 2020. Patients completed the survey via email or telephone. Participants graded their experience using a 5-point assessment (1=most positive;5=least desirable). 197 out of 381 telemedicine patients responded. Survey questions were consolidated into 7 groups. Living (1.38) vs deceased donor (1.56, P=0.018) recipients, less than 6 months post-transplant (1.33) vs 1.52 for 6-12 months, 1.56 for >12 months, P=0.033);non-African Americans (AA) (1.36) vs AA (1.60, P=0.002) responded more favorably to ease of scheduling and entering the portal. Non-AA (1.26) vs AA (1.40, P=0.034) rated patient/provider interaction higher. Patients age 50 or less (1.33), 65 and over (1.49) found better quality of the Internet connection with a provider than 51-64 (1.73, P=0.005). Patients < 50 (1.35) and women (1.39) found telemedicine simpler to use than 51-64 (1.66) and over 65 (1.58, P=0.045) and men (1.62, P=0.035), respectively. Patients who lived greater versus less than 50 miles from our center telemedicine is the same as in person visit (1.99 vs 2.38, P=0.009);an acceptable alternative (1.43 vs 1.74, P=0.009);enjoyed their experience and comfort substituting telemedicine for an in-person provider in the future (2.10 vs 1.76, P=0.03). Post-kidney transplant patients responded favorably to telemedicine. Some patient demographics influenced survey responses. These results suggest telemedicine can substitute for an in-person visit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Trends in Transplantation is the property of Publicidad Permanyer SLU and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)