Patients' perceptions of a telemedicine specialty clinic.
We studied patients' perceptions of telemedicine (interactive video) as a means of delivering specialist oncology/haematology care. Semistructured telephone interviews were performed with 22 patients attending a tele-oncology/haematology clinic in Kansas. Interviews were audio-taped and thematic content analysis of the transcripts was done. The response rate was 96%. All participants expressed satisfaction with their tele-consultations. For 50% of respondents, satisfaction with the tele-oncology/haematology clinic was qualified by two factors: participants also saw the specialist in person on occasions and the clinic was perceived as providing mainly a 'monitoring' function. In addition, 9 of the 22 patients expressed concern about the role of the nurse as a proxy for the doctor in performing certain parts of the physical examination. Overall, participants valued improved access to specialist services but had clear views as to the limitations of such a service. As the use of telecommunications technology grows, patient perspectives merit greater attention.
Mair
F
F
Department of Primary Care, University of Liverpool, UK. f.s.mair@liv.ac.uk
Whitten
P
P
May
C
C
Doolittle
G C
GC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D006402:Hematologic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007615:Kansas; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D009726:Nurses; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010808:Physical Examination; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires