Patient Satisfaction with Telehealth at an Academic Medical Center Primary Care Clinic.

Objective: To determine whether the quality of the patient experience differs between video visits and in-person visits for primary care. Methods: Using patient satisfaction survey results from patients who had visits with the internal medicine faculty primary care practice at a large urban academic hospital in New York City from 2018 to 2022, we compared results regarding satisfaction with the clinic, physician, and ease of access to care between patients who attended a video visit and those who attended an in-person appointment. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in patient experience. Results: In total, 9,862 participants were included in analysis. Mean age of respondents attending in-person visits was 59.0; mean age of respondents attending telemedicine visits was 56.0. There was no statistically significant difference in scores between the in-person and telemedicine groups for likelihood of recommending the practice to others, quality of time spent with the doctor, and how well the clinical team explained care. Patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the telemedicine group compared with the in-person group for ability to get an appointment when needed (4.48 ± 1.00 vs. 4.34 ± 1.04, p < 0.001), how helpful and courteous the person who assisted them was (4.64 ± 0.83 vs. 4.61 ± 0.79, p = 0.009), and ease of reaching the office through phone (4.55 ± 0.97 vs. 4.46 ± 0.96, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This analysis demonstrated parity in patient satisfaction for traditional in-person visits and telemedicine visits in primary care.

"Insta Residency:" Characteristics of Engagement With an Internal Medicine Residency Program Instagram Account.

Background Traditionally, medical training programs have been viewed and ranked according to factors such as national prestige, research opportunities and productivity, faculty prominence, and alumni success. While these components are still instrumental in attracting high-level applicants, the rise of social media has encouraged applicants to look beyond the traditional media put forth by institutions and turn to sources such as program-specific, departmental, or institutional social media pages for more rapid updates. To date, little has been written on how to maximize residency program social media use to engage target audiences of current residents, current faculty, other physicians, and applicants. To better understand how certain types of content lead to increased engagement, we analyze the Instagram social media platform of the Mount Sinai Beth Israel Internal Medicine Residency Program to identify potential trends in interactions to ultimately enhance the resident experience and institutional standing. Methodology We reviewed 257 posts on our Instagram account and calculated engagement of each category relative to the post count based on a method we developed. We used Instagram analytics to better understand our account's reach. Results Posts highlighting social events had the highest engagement from the online community. Data also show that while the page is viewed by many people with the average medical student age, our page captures an even wider audience. Conclusions Instagram posts about the social element of our residency program generated statistically significant increased engagement. Institutions can use this strategy of focusing on the social aspects of the program to increase reputational scores within the medical and greater community.

Remote enrollment into a telehealth-delivering patient portal: Barriers faced in an urban population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Telehealth drastically reduces the time burden of appointments and increases access to care for homebound patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many outpatient practices closed, requiring an expansion of telemedicine capabilities. However, a significant number of patients remain unconnected to telehealth-capable patient portals. Currently, no literature exists on the success of and barriers to remote enrollment in telehealth patient portals. From March 26 to May 8, 2020, a total of 324 patients were discharged from Mount Sinai Beth Israel (MSBI), a teaching hospital in New York City. Study volunteers attempted to contact and enroll patients in the MyChart patient portal to allow the completion of a post-discharge video visit. If patients were unable to enroll, barriers were documented and coded for themes. Of the 324 patients discharged from MSBI during the study period, 277 (85%) were not yet enrolled in MyChart. Volunteers successfully contacted 136 patients (49% of those eligible), and 39 (14%) were successfully enrolled. Inability to contact patients was the most significant barrier. For those successfully contacted but not enrolled, the most frequent barrier was becoming lost to follow-up (29% of those contacted), followed by lack of interest in remote appointments (21%) and patient technological limitations (9%). Male patients, and those aged 40-59, were significantly less likely to successfully enroll compared to other patients. Telehealth is critical for healthcare delivery. Remote enrollment in a telemedicine-capable patient portal is feasible, yet underperforms compared to reported in-person enrollment rates. Health systems can improve telehealth infrastructure by incorporating patient portal enrollment into in-person workflows, educating on the importance of telehealth, and devising workarounds for technological barriers.

Hands down, COVID-19 will change medical practice.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has challenged us to incorporate technology into engaging, interacting with, and caring for patients, using televisits and video conferencing in ways that have previously been resisted or derided.