Awareness and Attitudes Towards Telemedicine Among Medical Students in the United States

Kong, Steve S; Azarfar, Azin; Ashour, Amnie; Atkins, Christopher; Bhanusali, Neha

doi:10.7759/cureus.11574

Cited by 25 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…These findings echo a survey of medical students in the United States conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic in which only 20% reported having telemedicine training offered at their medical school, and 43% were unsure whether such training was available. 20 Unfortunately, the majority of IM interns in this study missed clinical time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a potentially lost opportunity to conduct telehealth training.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Telehealth Attitudes, Training, and Preparedness Among First-Year Internal Medicine Residents in the COVID-19 Era

Wong

Nath

Pincavage

et al. 2022

Telemedicine and e-Health

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Background: Telehealth, especially the use of real-time video and phone visits in ambulatory care, is increasingly important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current state of internal medicine (IM) interns' telehealth training at the start of residency is unknown. Objective: To characterize the attitudes, training, and preparedness of IM interns regarding the use of telehealth video and phone visits in ambulatory care. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of IM interns at four IM residency programs in the United States in 2020. Results: One hundred fifty-six surveys were analyzed (response rate 82%). Seventy-five percent of interns rated training in the use of real-time video and phone visits for ambulatory care as important or very important. The vast majority received no training (74%) or clinical experience (90% no prior video visits, 81% no prior phone visits) during medical school. More interns believed that primary care may be effectively delivered via video visits compared with phone visits (77% vs. 35%). Most interns (69%) missed clinical time during medical school due to the COVID-19 pandemic; 41% felt that the pandemic negatively affected their ambulatory care preparation. Overall, the majority of interns (58%) felt prepared for primary care; only 12% felt prepared to deliver primary care using either video or phone visits.Conclusions: Although IM interns had favorable attitudes toward video and phone visits, few had training or clinical experience; most felt unprepared. Residency programs may need to close training gaps for current interns in conducting telehealth video and phone visits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Telehealth Attitudes, Training, and Preparedness Among First-Year Internal Medicine Residents in the COVID-19 Era

Wong

Nath

Pincavage

et al. 2022

Telemedicine and e-Health

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“…As reported in previous studies conducted across different communities, the participants in this study showed interest in telehealth. They reported that it was necessary for their education and training and that it provided knowledge and opportunities to develop their skills, which could encourage students to use eHealth techniques in the future [ 25 , 26 ]. Although the interns showed good awareness of digital health apps and positive views regarding the inclusion of digital health technology in their education and training, many of them did not attend additional training in telehealth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These findings are similar to those reported by a previous study conducted at the end of 2020 among medical students. The study concluded that only 17.4% of medical students had prior exposure to telehealth despite having a high level of interest in using telehealth in the future [ 26 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Awareness, Views, Perceptions, and Beliefs of Pharmacy Interns Regarding Digital Health in Saudi Arabia: Cross-sectional Study

Alsahali¹

2021

JMIR Med Educ

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Background Digital health technologies and apps are rapidly advancing in recent years. It is expected to have more roles in transforming the health care system in this era of digital services. However, limited research is available regarding delivering digital health education in pharmacy and the pharmacy students’ perspectives on digital health. Objective This study aims to assess pharmacy interns’ awareness of digital health apps in Saudi Arabia and their views regarding the coverage of digital health in the education of pharmacists. In addition, we assessed the interns’ perceptions and beliefs about the concepts, benefits, and implementation of digital health in practice settings. Methods A cross-sectional study using a web-based survey was conducted among pharmacy interns at Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. An invitation with a link to the web-based survey was sent to all interns registered at the college between January and March 2021. Results A total of 68 out of 77 interns registered in the internship year participated in this study, giving a response rate of 88%. The mean total score for pharmacy interns’ awareness of digital health apps in Saudi Arabia was 5.66 (SD 1.74; maximum attainable score=7). The awareness with different apps ranged from 97% (66/68) for the Tawakkalna app to 65% (44/68) for the Ministry of Health 937 call center. The mean total score for attitude and beliefs toward concepts and benefits of telehealth and telemedicine apps was 58.25 (SD 10.44; maximum attainable score=75). In this regard, 84% (57/68) of the interns believed that telehealth could enhance the quality of care, 71% (48/68) believed that it could help effectively provide patient counseling, and 69% (47/68) believed it could improve patients’ adherence to therapy. In this study, 41% (28/68) believed that the current coverage of digital health in the curriculum was average, whereas only 18% (12/68) believed it was high or very high coverage. Moreover, only 38% (26/68) attended additional educational activities related to digital health. Consequently, the majority (43/68, 63%) were of the opinion that there is a high or very high need to educate and train pharmacists in the field of digital health. Conclusions Overall, the interns showed good awareness of common digital health apps in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the majority of the interns had positive perceptions and beliefs about the concepts, benefits, and implementation of digital health. However, the findings showed that there is still scope for improvement in some areas. Moreover, most interns indicated that there is a need for more education and training in the field of digital health. Consequently, early exposure to content related to digital health and pharmacy informatics is an important step to help in the wide use of these technologies in the graduates’ future careers.

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“…Though medical educators have proposed strategies to ensure the inclusion of learners during this unprecedented time, striking the balance between prioritization of patient and provider safety while keeping trainees engaged has proven to be an ongoing challenge [ 1 ]. Prior to the pandemic, few learners had reported much, if any, clinical experience with telehealth [ 2 ], yet many have now become comfortable and competent in utilizing this modality [ 3 •]. Current telehealth literature from the past year focuses on provider and patient perceptions of telehealth [ 4 ], though fewer studies have focused on its direct impact on trainees’ clinical education.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature has shown that, despite the often complex and sensitive nature of interactions with patients, adolescent healthcare can be provided effectively and successfully through telehealth; however, the efficacy of this platform in clinical education has not been fully established [ 5 – 7 , 8 •, 9 •]. Since the early months of the pandemic, there has been a surge of publications on the importance of including learners in the virtual setting, though the majority of articles have focused on medical and nursing student education, with fewer studies examining the experiences of medical residents or clinical fellows [ 3 •, 10 , 11 , 12 ••]. Several Adolescent Medicine divisions throughout the country have described the challenges, opportunities, and impact of a ramp-up to telehealth in the setting of COVID-19 [ 13 – 16 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Educational Impact of Telehealth on Adolescent Medicine Trainees: a Qualitative Approach

et al. 2021

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Purpose of Review Telehealth has been swiftly incorporated into clinical practice since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with limited understanding of how it affects trainees’ educational experiences. Our study evaluates the impact of telehealth on clinical education in pediatric and Adolescent Medicine trainees during the pandemic. Recent Findings Previous literature on telehealth focused on provider and patient perceptions in addition to clinical education for students, though none has evaluated the experiences of medical residents and fellows in Adolescent Medicine. Summary Trainees reported enhanced opportunities for bidirectional observation with attending physicians, increased flexibility for the trainee and families, and the opportunity to engage with adolescents in their home environment. Drawbacks include decreased physical exam skill-building and technological difficulties that can interrupt the learning experience. Telehealth is a valuable tool in clinical education and innovative strategies are needed to refine and enhance these educational experiences for pediatric and Adolescent Medicine trainees.

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Awareness and Attitudes Towards Telemedicine Among Medical Students in the United States

Cited by 25 publications

References 24 publications

Telehealth Attitudes, Training, and Preparedness Among First-Year Internal Medicine Residents in the COVID-19 Era

Telehealth Attitudes, Training, and Preparedness Among First-Year Internal Medicine Residents in the COVID-19 Era

Awareness, Views, Perceptions, and Beliefs of Pharmacy Interns Regarding Digital Health in Saudi Arabia: Cross-sectional Study

Evaluating the Educational Impact of Telehealth on Adolescent Medicine Trainees: a Qualitative Approach

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