Patient Satisfaction with Virtual Obstetric Care.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare research
• Patient satisfaction studies
• Telemedicine in obstetrics

Background:

• Patient satisfaction is increasingly important in US healthcare.
• New care modalities like virtual care are emerging.
• Virtual care integrates technology into patient consultations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare patient satisfaction between virtual and traditional antenatal care models.
• To evaluate satisfaction in obstetric patients receiving one-third of visits via videoconference versus in-clinic visits.
• To identify factors influencing the selection of virtual care in obstetrics.

Main Methods:

• Developed a four-domain satisfaction questionnaire.
• Surveyed 378 virtual-care and 795 traditional-care obstetric patients (Jan 2013-June 2015).
• Employed statistical analyses including chi-squared tests, t-tests, logistic regression, and ANOVA.

Main Results:

• Overall satisfaction was significantly higher in the virtual-care cohort (4.76 vs. 4.47; p < .001).
• Parity of one or more was the only significant demographic factor for virtual care selection (OR = 2.4).
• Technology used in virtual care did not significantly impact patient satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Both virtual and traditional care models resulted in high patient satisfaction.
• The virtual care model demonstrated higher mean satisfaction scores.
• Virtual care may serve as a suitable alternative to traditional antenatal care, particularly for multiparous women.