Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Mar 12, 2025
Date Accepted: Nov 17, 2025
Attitudes towards video consultations from the perspective of physicians and psychotherapists in German outpatient care after the COVID-19 pandemic - survey results
ABSTRACT
Background:
Although video consultations (VC) are permitted in German outpatient care and have seen a notable rise during the Covid-19 pandemic, their use still does not seem to have become established in Germany.
Objective:
This survey aims to evaluate the attitudes of physicians and psychotherapists with regard to the use of VC after the Covid-19 pandemic, in particular in the context of types of treatment and suitable medical fields.
Methods:
A standardized questionnaire was sent out to all 34,095 physicians and psychotherapists in four German regions (Westphalia-Lippe, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein and Berlin). The analysis consists of both descriptive and inferential statistics. Subgroup analysis includes gender, age groups, community size, VC experience, type and ownership of practice as well as area of medical care.
Results:
The response rate was 17.9%, including a total of 5,930 participants in the analysis. About 40% of the physicians and psychotherapists surveyed stated that they offer VC at least once a month. Approximately 60% of physicians/psychotherapists do not or rarely offer VC. The most common occasions for which treatment by VC was reported to be suitable were discussing test results (68.1%), taking the patient’s medical history (56.1%), issuing prescriptions for drugs and remedies (53.8%), and the issuing of incapacity certificates for work (50.7%). Physicians and psychotherapists rate mental and behavioral disorders to be suitable medical fields for VC use with an exception for cases of schizophrenia as well as schizotypal and delusional disorders caused by psychotropic substances.
Conclusions:
There has been an increase in the self-reported uptake of VC among physicians and psychotherapists compared to pre pandemic levels, although this remains at a relatively low level in primary and specialist care. There is also a high level of interest in VC use. However, this self-reported use is not yet reflected in actual use data, suggesting the need for further investigation into the underlying factors influencing this and identification of potential enablers.
Citation
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