Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Sep 26, 2022
Date Accepted: Feb 13, 2023
Date Submitted to PubMed: Apr 10, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Understanding the “Patient” Experience with Virtual Care during COVID-19
ABSTRACT
Background:
Virtual care has expanded during COVID-19 and enabled greater access and continuity of care for many patients. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore patients’ experiences and perspectives with adoption and use of virtual care during COVID-19.
Objective:
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore patients’ experiences and perspectives with adoption and use of virtual care during COVID-19.
Methods:
A focus group with a purposive sample of patient representatives was conducted.
Results:
Respondents felt virtual care is a beneficial addition to the healthcare system, enabling greater convenience and access to healthcare services. Key barriers and challenges in adopting and using virtual care included patients’ attitudes or confidence due to lack of knowledge, understanding and familiarity. Cost, technological access, connectivity, and low digital literacy were challenges for some patients, particularly in rural communities and amongst seniors. Patient education and support was critical and needed to be inclusive, easy to understand, and include information regarding privacy, security, consent and the technology. Types of patient education experiences regarded as most helpful included peer support and knowledge sharing among patients themselves.
Conclusions:
Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual care will have a continuing role in enhancing continuity of care through more convenient access. The educational and informational needs of patients are important considerations in promoting adoption and use of virtual care. Key educational and informational needs and strategies were identified to enable and empower patients with the knowledge, digital literacy skills and supports to effectively use virtual care.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.