Teleconsultation Services in Dermatology During Covid-19 Era: Patient’s Perspective
Abstract:
Background: Because of lockdown during Covid-19 era, the health care delivery system was shaken. In order to follow the norm of social distancing and to ensure proper healthcare delivery, teleconsultation services gained popularity. With widespread accessibility to smartphones and computers, healthcare services are literally just a touch away. During Covid-19 pandemic, as the daily outpatient services were reduced, a quite high proportion of patients had opted for teleconsultation services. Also, teleconsultation services provided advantage of zero social contact, easy accessibility and no risk of hospital acquired infections. This observational study was conducted to know the patient’s perspective regarding how they rate teleconsultation in relation to physical consultations.
Objective: To study the patient’s perspective regarding teleconsultation services in dermatology during Covid-19 era. Methods: 100 patients willing to give consent to get included in the study were selected for the study. One of the prescribed questionnaires depending on whether they have used teleconsultation service or not was filled. The result was statistically analysed and compiled.
Results: Out of 100 enrolled patients, only 15 (15%) patients had used teleconsultation services in the past. The most important reasons quoted for preferring teleconsultation included easy accessibility; less time consuming, no travel issues, lockdown. The few important reasons for patients not preferring teleconsultation were lack of knowledge; no doctorpatient interaction, etc.
Conclusion: Teleconsultation is an adjunct to physical consultation and not a total replacement of physical consultation because the understanding and comfort level of a physical doctor-patient relationship/interaction is difficult to be achieved through telecommunication.
