Patient Satisfaction With Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Background New York City was the international epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care providers responded by rapidly transitioning from in-person to video consultations. Telemedicine (ie, video visits) is a potentially disruptive innovation; however, little is known about patient satisfaction with this emerging alternative to the traditional clinical encounter. Objective This study aimed to determine if patient satisfaction differs between video and in-person visits. Methods In this retrospective observational cohort study, we analyzed 38,609 Press Ganey patient satisfaction survey outcomes from clinic encounters (620 video visits vs 37,989 in-person visits) at a single-institution, urban, quaternary academic medical center in New York City for patients aged 18 years, from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020. Time was categorized as pre–COVID-19 and COVID-19 (before vs after March 4, 2020). Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests and multivariable linear regression were used for hypothesis testing and statistical modeling, respectively. Results We experienced an 8729% increase in video visit utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the same period last year. Video visit Press Ganey scores were significantly higher than in-person visits (94.9% vs 92.5%; P<.001). In adjusted analyses, video visits (parameter estimate [PE] 2.18; 95% CI 1.20-3.16) and the COVID-19 period (PE 0.55; 95% CI 0.04-1.06) were associated with higher patient satisfaction. Younger age (PE –2.05; 95% CI –2.66 to –1.22), female gender (PE –0.73; 95% CI –0.96 to –0.50), and new visit type (PE –0.75; 95% CI –1.00 to –0.49) were associated with lower patient satisfaction. Conclusions Patient satisfaction with video visits is high and is not a barrier toward a paradigm shift away from traditional in-person clinic visits. Future research comparing other clinic visit quality indicators is needed to guide and implement the widespread adoption of telemedicine.

Veteran and Provider Satisfaction with a Home-Based Telerehabilitation Assessment for Wheelchair Seating and Mobility

“…The results of this project indicate that Veterans were satisfied with the telerehabilitation wheelchair seating and mobility assessments, consistent with previous research revealing high participant satisfaction with telehealth services (Donelan et al, 2019;Graham et al, 2020;Gustke et al, 2000;Mair & Witten, 2000;Nguyen et al, 2020;Ramaswamy et al, 2020;Schein et al, 2010b;Whitten & Love, 2005;Williams et al, 2001). A previous study by Gustke et al (2000) revealed that patient satisfaction is rated high because the use of telehealth directly removes several problems associated with dissatisfaction in healthcare, such as appointment scheduling and travel time.…”

“…“Telerehabilitation can be defined as the application of telecommunication, remote sensing and operation technologies, and computing technologies to assist with the provision of medical rehabilitation services at a distance” ( Cooper et al, 2001 ). Overall, studies of telehealth services demonstrate very high levels of patient satisfaction, allowing more of a paradigm shift away from traditional in-person visits ( Ramaswamy et al, 2020 ). The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) telemedicine infrastructure is robust and saved Veterans 834,724 miles between 2005 and 2013, resulting in travel savings of 145 miles for each Veteran visit ( Russo et al, 2016 ).…”

Patient and clinician experience with a rapidly implemented large-scale video consultation program during COVID-19

“…Researchers have addressed the various aspects of rapid telemedicine implementation and use at this critical time: technical, regulatory and economic challenges [ 10–13 ]. A few recently published studies investigated patient satisfaction of newly deployed telemedicine programs during COVID-19 [ 14–18 ]. Like our study, all these studies show very high levels of patient satisfaction with VC, stating that from the patient’s point of view, there is no barrier for paradigm shift away from traditional in-personal clinic visits to VC.…”

Expanding Telemonitoring in a Virtual World: A Case Study of the Expansion of a Heart Failure Telemonitoring Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Since the pandemic started, large organizations such as the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and the Heart Failure Society of America have recommended transitions to virtual modes of care to meet the needs of patients during the pandemic [ 4 , 5 ]. In New York City, where high transmission of COVID-19 has been reported, telemonitoring was found to be an important component of the medical response to the pandemic because it reduced the demand on strained health care staff and enabled the meeting of patient needs at home [ 10 ]. As the health care system began to recognize the new reality and the presence of physical distancing restrictions, potential arose for virtual services such as telemonitoring to play an important role in patient management [ 3 , 10 ].…”

“…In New York City, where high transmission of COVID-19 has been reported, telemonitoring was found to be an important component of the medical response to the pandemic because it reduced the demand on strained health care staff and enabled the meeting of patient needs at home [ 10 ]. As the health care system began to recognize the new reality and the presence of physical distancing restrictions, potential arose for virtual services such as telemonitoring to play an important role in patient management [ 3 , 10 ]. However, it is important to recognize that many telemonitoring programs were originally designed under the conditions of a pre–COVID-19 model of care that may no longer be available due to the limitations on in-person visits.…”