Telemedicine use and satisfaction among Filipinos during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Introduction: There is limited knowledge on telemedicine use and patient satisfaction in the Philippines, especially during COVID-19. Aim: To examine visit-related characteristics of two years of video consultations conducted during the pandemic, patient satisfaction, and identified patient- and visit-related characteristics associated with video consultation satisfaction scores. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of telemedicine use and satisfaction of patients aged ≥18y, who had a video consultation between 1 March 2020 to 31 March 2022, using the SeeYouDoc (SYD) platform. As part of SYD’s routine oversight, after each video consultation, SYD a 6-item feedback survey was automatically prompted which assessed the patient’s level of comfort during the encounter, their perception of the convenience of telemedicine, the acceptability of the lack of physical contact during the consult, presence of privacy-related concerns, overall satisfaction, and their intention to use teleconsultation again. Each item was evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale with 5 as the highest score. These scores were collected, and t-test and ANOVA were employed to measure the differences in mean telemedicine satisfaction scores. Results: 12,378 telemedicine visits were conducted from 1 March 2020 to 31 March 2022 and patient feedback was received from1,896 patients (15.3%). The mean age of the respondents was 34.7±12.3y. The majority were females (83.1%), new SYD telemedicine patients (69.1%), and in the 26-39y age group (57.0%). Satisfaction with telemedicine was expressed by 73.8%, 63.4% were highly satisfied while 26.2% reported dissatisfaction. Mean telemedicine satisfaction scores were significantly higher among patients who had their telemedicine visit in 2021 (x̄=4.7±0.92) compared to 2020 (x̄=3.4±1.75) and 2022 (x̄=4.3±1.32), p<0.001. Patients aged 60-79 years old had a higher mean satisfaction score compared to other age groups, p=0.014. Higher mean telemedicine satisfaction scores were observed among male patients, those with completed video consultations, and patients who paid for their consultation, p<0.001. Conclusion: We observed high patient satisfaction with telemedicine during COVID-19. Filipino patients and families consider telemedicine a viable medium to receive healthcare services.
Downloads
References
Sohrabi C, Alsafi Z, O’Neill N, et al. World Health Organization declares global emergency: a review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Int J Surg 2020;76:71-77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2020.02.034
World Health Organization. (2021). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Available at: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19 accessed 14 June 2022.
World Health Organization. (2020). WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020. Available at: https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020 accessed 14 June 2022.
Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. (2020). Proclamation No. 929 s. 2020. Available at: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2020/03/16/proclamation-no-929-s-2020/ accessed 15 June 2022.
Sood S, Mbarika V, Jugoo S, et al. What is telemedicine? A collection of 104 peer-reviewed perspectives and theoretical underpinnings. Telemed J E Health 2007;13(5):573–590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2006.0073
Tuckson RV, Edmunds M, Hodgkins ML. Telehealth. N Engl J Med 2017;377(16):1585–1592. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsr1503323
World Health Organization. Telemedicine: Opportunities and developments in member states. Genève, Switzerland, World Health Organization; 2011.
Yang Y. Telehealth parity laws. Health Affairs 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1377/hpb20160815.244795
Macabasag RLA, Magtubo KMP, Marcelo PGF. Implementation of telemedicine services in lower-middle income countries: lessons for the Philippines. J Int Soc Telemed eHealth 2016;4:e24(1-11). Available at: https://journals.ukzn.ac.za/index.php/JISfTeH/article/view/168
Levine SR, Gorman M. “Telestroke” : the application of telemedicine for stroke. Stroke 1999;30(2):464–469. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.30.2.464
Aafp.org. (2020). Inside look at using telemedicine during COVID-19 pandemic. Available at: https://www.aafp.org/news/health-of-the-public/20200323covidtelehealth.html accessed 15 June 2022
Gadzinski AJ, Gore JL, Ellimoottil C, Odisho AY, Watts KL. Implementing telemedicine in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. J Urol 2020;204(1):14–16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000001033
Kruse CS, Krowski N, Rodriguez B, et al. Telehealth and patient satisfaction: a systematic review and narrative analysis. BMJ Open 2017;7(8):e016242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016242
Dinesen B, Nonnecke B, Lindeman D, et al. Personalized telehealth in the future: a global research agenda. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5257
Berger S, Saut AM, Berssaneti FT. Using patient feedback to drive quality improvement in hospitals: a qualitative study. BMJ Open 2020;10(10):e037641. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037641
Wong E, Mavondo F, Fisher J. Patient feedback to improve quality of patient-centred care in public hospitals: a systematic review of the evidence. BMC Health Serv Res 2020;20:530. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05383-3
SeeYouDoc (2020). Seeyoudoc.com. Available at: https://www.seeyoudoc.com/ accessed 15 June 2022
Karimi M, Lee EC, Couture SJ, et al. National survey trends in telehealth use in 2021: disparities in utilization and audio vs. video services [Internet]. Research Report No. HP-2022-04. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: telehealth-hps-ib.pdf (hhs.gov) accessed 15 June 2022.
American Well. (2017). Telehealth Index: 2017 Consumer Survey. American Well. Available at: http://go.americanwell.com/rs/335-QLG-882/images/American_Well_Telehealth_Index_2017_Consumer_Survey.pdf accessed 15 June 2022
Granja C, Janssen W, Johansen MA. Factors determining the success and failure of eHealth interventions: systematic review of the literature. J Med Internet Res 2018;20(5):e10235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/10235
Kupfer JM, Bond EU. Patient satisfaction and patient-centered care: necessary but not equal. JAMA 2012;308(2):139–140. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2012.7381
Tseng H-T, Hung W-F, Hwang H-G, Chang I-C. Do patients’ privacy concerns influence their intention toward medical image exchange consent in Taiwan? Healthcare (Basel) 2020;8(1):14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8010014
Hale TM, Kvedar JC. Privacy and security concerns in telehealth. AMA J Ethics 2014;16(12):981–5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/virtualmentor.2014.16.12.jdsc1-1412
Hall JL, McGraw D. For telehealth to succeed, privacy and security risks must be identified and addressed. Health Aff (Millwood) 2014;33(2):216–221. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0997
Miller RL. Rogers’ Innovation Diffusion Theory (1962, 1995). In: Information Seeking Behavior and Technology Adoption. Hershey, PA: IGI Global; 2015. p. 261–274.
Rahman N, Nathwani S, Kandiah T. Teledentistry from a patient perspective during the coronavirus pandemic. Br Dent J 2020;Aug:1-4. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-020-1919-6 accessed 15 June 2022
Layfield E, Triantafillou V, Prasad A, et al. Telemedicine for head and neck ambulatory visits during COVID-19: evaluating usability and patient satisfaction. Head Neck 2020;42(7):1681–1689. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hed.26285
Thirunavukkarasu A, Alotaibi NH, Al-Hazmi AH, et al. Patients’ perceptions and satisfaction with the outpatient telemedicine clinics during COVID-19 era in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. Healthcare (Basel) 2021;9(12):1739. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9121739
Adams L, Lester S, Hoon E, et al. Patient satisfaction and acceptability with telehealth at specialist medical outpatient clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Intern Med J 2021;51(7):1028–1037. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.15205
Scott R, Mars M. Telehealth in the developing world: current status and future prospects. Smart Homecare Technol Telehealth 2015;3:25-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/SHTT.S75184
Zhang X, Zaman BU. Adoption mechanism of telemedicine in underdeveloped country. Health Informatics J 2020;26(2):1088–1103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1460458219868
Mittal S, Mehar M. Socio-economic factors affecting adoption of modern information and communication technology by farmers in India: analysis using multivariate probit model. J Agric EducExt 2016;22(2):199–212. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2014.997255
Orrange S, Patel A, Mack WJ, Cassetta J. Patient satisfaction and trust in telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: retrospective observational study. JMIR Hum Factors 2021;8(2):e28589. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/28589
Phenicie R, Acosta Wright R, Holzberg J. Patient satisfaction with telehealth during COVID-19: experience in a rural county on the United States-Mexico border. Telemed J E Health 2021;27(8):859–865. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2021.0111
Alharbi KG, Aldosari MN, Alhassan AM, et al. Patient satisfaction with virtual clinic during Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in primary healthcare, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. J Fam Community Med 2021;28(1):48–54. DOI: https:doi.org/10.4103/jfcm.JFCM_353_20
Kahan ZA, Zahoor A, Afzal I, et al. Evaluation of patient perception and satisfaction toward the use of telemedicine during pandemic of novel coronavirus in Pakistan. Telemed J E Health 2021;27(10):1174–1179. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2020.0343
Lam K, Lu AD, Shi Y, Covinsky KE. Assessing telemedicine unreadiness among older adults in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Intern Med 2020;180(10):1389–1391. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.2671
Statista. (2019). Philippines: share of internet users by age group. Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/998362/share-internet-users-philippines-age-group/ accessed 15 June 2022
Cruz GT, Cruz CJP, Saito Y (eds). (2019) Ageing and Health in the Philipines. Jakarta: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). Available at: https://www.eria.org/uploads/media/Books/2019-Dec-ERIA-Ageing-And-Health-In-The-Philippines.pdf accessed 15 June 2022
Kamimura A, Panahi S, Meng H-W, Sundrud J, Lucero M. Patient satisfaction with telehealth and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic among uninsured free clinic patients. J Patient Exp 2021;8:23743735211033107. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735211033107
Copyright (c) 2022 Noel Gary Ello Del Castillo, MTM, Patrick Joshua Gerolaga, Abegail Jayne Amoranto, Vanessa Del Castillo, MBA, Arnulfo Jr. Rosario, MD, MPH
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
