JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many healthcare providers to make changes in the treatments they offer. We evaluated acceptance of telemedicine and preferences.

Objective:

The primary aim was to evaluate the acceptance of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. Further, to assess patients’ preferences and correlation between acceptance and satisfaction, pain, general condition, perception of telemedicine, and catastrophizing.

Methods:

Anonymous cross-sectional survey between 27/01/2021 and 04/02/2022, enrolling outpatients. Descriptive analysis of acceptance of telemedicine and investigation of patients’ preferences. Further, Spearman correlation and a chi-squared test for categorical data, with Cramer’s V statistic to assess effect sizes.

Results:

Our survey was completed by 60 patients. Telemedicine acceptance was high, with an average of 7.6±3.3 (on an 11-point numeric rating scale from 0 = not at all to 10 = completely), and respondents generally preferred on-site consultations over telemedicine (58.3% vs. 40.0%). A subgroup analysis revealed that respondents who already had received a phone consultation, showed higher preference for telemedicine (50.0% vs. 16.7%; X2 (2, n=60) = 7.5, P=.024, Cramer's V=.354), as well as those who had been treated for more than 3 months (54.8% vs. 24.1%; X2 (2, n=60) = 6.5, P=.039, Cramer's V=.329).

Conclusions:

Acceptance of telemedicine was high, but patients preferred on-site consultations. Preference for telemedicine was markedly higher in patients who had already received phone consultations or who had been treated for longer than 3 months. In times of COVID-19, the modality of patient care should be discussed on an individual basis. Clinical Trial: No registration.