Adopting Virtual Visits for Parkinson's Disease Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Developing Country (original) (raw)
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Telemedicine Reports
Background: Teleneurology consultations can be highly advantageous since neurological diseases and disabilities often limit patient's access to health care, particularly in a setting where they need to travel long distances for specialty consults. Patient satisfaction is an important outcome assessing success of a telemedicine program. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine satisfaction and perception of patients toward an audio call based teleneurology follow-up initiated during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Primary outcomes were satisfaction to tele-consult, and proportion of patients preferring telemedicine for future follow-up. Results: A total of 261 patients who received tele-consult were enrolled. Satisfaction was highest for domain technological quality, followed by patient-physician dialogue (PPD) and least to quality of care (QoC). Median (interquartile range) patient satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale was 4 (3-5). Eighty-five (32.6%; 95% confidence interval 26.9-38.6%) patients preferred telemedicine for future follow-up. Higher overall satisfaction was associated with health condition being stable/better, change in treatment advised on tele-consult, diagnosis not requiring follow-up examination, higher scores on domains QoC and PPD (p < 0.05). Future preference for telemedicine was associated with patient him-/herself consulting with doctor, less duration of follow-up, higher overall satisfaction, and higher scores on domain QoC (p < 0.05). On thematic analysis, telemedicine was found convenient, reduced expenditure, and had better physician attention; in-person visits were comprehensive, had better patient-physician relationship, and better communication. Discussion: Patient satisfaction was lower in our study than what has been observed earlier, which may be explained by the primitive nature of our platform. Several variables related to the patients' disease process have an effect on patient satisfaction. Conclusion: Development of robust, structured platforms is necessary to fully utilize the potential of telemedicine in developing countries.
Journal of Patient Experience, 2021
Parkinson’s disease and parkinsonism are common chronic neurodegenerative disorders that tend to affect older adults and cause physical and sometimes cognitive limitations. Given that these limitations could impact successful telemedicine use, we aimed to investigate the experiences of patients with parkinsonism using telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 19-item survey was emailed to patients with parkinsonism following telemedicine visits at a single US tertiary care parkinsonism specialty clinic. Seventy-four individuals responded, out of 270 invitations sent. Almost two-thirds (61.6%) of the respondents were comfortable with using technology in general, and almost all were very satisfied with their telemedicine experience. The most commonly reported benefits included cost and travel savings, ease of access to a specialist, and time savings. Issues with technology and previsit instructions were the most commonly identified challenges (28%). Urgent implementation, due to th...
Virtual visits for Parkinson disease: A multicenter noncontrolled cohort
Neurology. Clinical practice, 2017
Previous small-scale studies have demonstrated the feasibility of providing remote specialty care via virtual visits. We assessed the feasibility and benefits of a one-time consultation between a remote Parkinson Disease (PD) specialist and an individual with PD at home on a larger scale. We conducted a multicenter noncontrolled cohort of virtual visits administered over videoconferencing between remote PD specialists and individuals with PD in their home. Specialists performed a patient history and a PD-specific physical examination and provided recommendations to patients and their local physicians. The primary outcome measures were feasibility, as measured by the proportion of visits completed as scheduled, and the 6-month change in quality of life, as measured by the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire 39. Additional outcomes included satisfaction with visits and interest in future virtual visits. A total of 277 participants from 5 states enrolled, 258 participants completed v...
Family physician's perception towards virtual care during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has ingendered a significant transition in medical practice towards an online model of care. Although virtual methods of service have been liberally used these past months, the precise level of satisfaction of physicians is important to understand the barriers that the service faced and the future of maintaining these models of patient care. This quantitative study aimed at measuring the satisfaction of family medicine physicians with virtual services while practising in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic. Design and Setting: A questionnaire was distributed to participating physicians working in Saudi Arabia. Demographic, satisfaction, and thoughts on future applicability of online care was evaluated. Results: A total of 118 physicians responded to the questionnaire. Demographic values were mostly evenly distributed whereas mean satisfaction level during the pandemic was 77.53% ± 15.04. The only variable impacting levels of satisfaction was overall burden of work in number of different sites worked for on a weekly basis. Conclusion: The family medicine physicians who worked during the pandemic using virtual services were generally satisfied with the services. Future studies should evaluate the applicability of using these tools after the end of the pandemic.
Virtual visits for Parkinson disease: A case series
Neurology. Clinical practice, 2014
We sought to characterize recommendations and feedback of patients with Parkinson disease, each offered a free telemedicine consultation with a specialist. Visits consisted of history, neurologic examination, and recommendations. Midway through the program, patients were asked to complete an online satisfaction survey. From August 2012 to May 2013, 55 patients in 5 states (mean age 67.8 years) participated, with 80% of visits conducted from their home. Patients with Parkinson disease were recommended to exercise (86%), change current medication (63%), and add new medication (53%). Thirty-three of 35 consecutive patients completed a survey. Patient satisfaction exceeded 90% for virtually all aspects of the visit measured. Providing care to patients in their homes via telemedicine is feasible, results in changes to care, and is well-received.
Indian Journal of Community Health
Introduction: COVID-19 has prevented many patients from accessing health care through traditional face-to-face clinic visits. Consequently, online consultations have gained popularity. Aim: To explore patient perceptions regarding virtual consultations. Methods: A voluntary online survey using a mix of quantitative and qualitative questions was administered to patients across selected cities in India using a social media platform. Responses were used to explore the characteristics of users, perceived advantages and disadvantages of online consultations and patient satisfaction. Results: There were 679 respondents (M 52.4%: F 47.6%) that had consulted doctors online; 91.8% were from 8 major metro cities. Interestingly, over 80% had never sought online consultation before the COVID-19 pandemic. 46% consultations were via videocalls, 26% through WhatsApp and 21% via telephone calls. The main advantages of online consultations cited by patients included a lower risk of infection (78.8%)...
BACKGROUND With the onset of COVID-19, general practitioners (GPs) and patients worldwide swiftly transitioned from face-to-face to digital remote consultations. There is a need to evaluate how this global shift has impacted patient care, healthcare providers, patient and carer experience, and health systems. OBJECTIVE We explored GPs’ perspectives on the main benefits and challenges of using digital remote care. METHODS GPs across 20 countries completed an online questionnaire between June – September 2020. GPs’ perceptions on main barriers and challenges were explored using free-text questions. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. RESULTS A total of 1,605 respondents participated in our survey. The benefits identified included reducing COVID-19 transmission risks, guaranteeing access and continuity of care, improved efficiency, faster access to care, improved convenience and communication with patients, greater work flexibility for providers, and hastening the digital t...
Using Virtual Visits to Care for Primary Care Patients With COVID-19 Symptoms
Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 2021
Examine use of office resources by primary care patients who were initially evaluated through telehealth, telephone, or in-person encounters. Methods: Retrospective electronic health record review on patients seen in March 2020 for evaluation of potential COVID-19 symptoms, to assess the total number of interactions with physicians and office staff. Results: Of 202 patients, 89 (44%) had initial telehealth, 55 (27%) telephone, and 52 (26%) in-person encounters. Patients initially evaluated through telehealth, telephone, and in-person encounters had a mean of 6.1 (S.D. = 3.7), 5.2 (S.D. = 3.6), and 4.5 (S.D. = 3.0) total interactions with the office, respectively (P = .03), and 9%, 12.7%, and 19.2%, respectively, had a subsequent in-person or emergency department visit (P = .22). Multivariable analysis showed no differences in number of office interactions based on initial visit type; older patients (95% CI = 0.00-0.07) and those with subjective fevers (95% CI = 1.01-3.01) or shortness of breath (95% CI = 0.23-2.28) had more interactions with the office. Conclusion: Primary care providers used virtual visits to care for most patients presenting with potential COVID-19 symptoms, with many patients choosing telephone over telehealth visits. Virtual visits can successfully limit patient exposure to other people, and consideration could be given to increasing its use for patients with potential symptoms of COVID-19. (J Am Board Fam Med 2021;34:S147-S151.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic mandated changes in the healthcare system to ensure uninterrupted patients care. We aimed to evaluate patients' satisfaction with the virtual clinic service during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify factors affecting satisfaction. Methods: The study included 507 patients who had at least one virtual clinic visit in a single primary healthcare center from May 2020 to 2021. The data collected in this cross-sectional study included the demographics and questions related to patients' experiences and satisfaction. The study outcome was the overall satisfaction with the virtual clinic service. Results: The study included 245 (48.32%) males, and the age ranged from 18 to 29 years in 34.32% of participants. Referral to the virtual clinic was according to the patients' request in most cases (n=314, 61.93%). The patients knew about the virtual clinic through a phone call from the hospital (n=247) and previous experience with the virtual clinic (n=171). Eighty-six percent of the patients agreed/ strongly agreed that they were completely satisfied with the virtual clinic services. Satisfaction was significantly lower in patients above 70 years (OR: 0.03 (95% CI: 0.002-0.40); p=0.01) and those not referred to the virtual clinic upon their request (OR: 0.16 (0.08-0.31); p˂0.001). No other factors affected patients' satisfaction. Conclusions: The patients were generally satisfied with the virtual clinic service and logistics. Factors affecting satisfaction should be considered when planning future virtual clinic services.