Agile Application of Video Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a need to introduce video telemedicine for outpatients as an emergency measure without widespread stakeholder consultation. The patient and clinician experience of video outpatient consultation during the peak of the pandemic was studied for acceptability and to gather recommendations to improve the service during continuing infection control measures. Methods Outpatient video telemedicine was introduced over a 14-day period including the provision of equipment, systems integration and stakeholder communication. Patient and clinician experience were measured between 15 April 2020 and 5 May 2020. Results A total of 43 patients and 79 clinicians provided feedback. Of the patients, 86% were above the age of 30 years, with the largest patient group aged 51-70 years. Patient experience was positive. All (100%) patients found joining the video consultation easy; 93% of them recommended to use it for future consultations. Clinician satisfaction was >90% with sound and video quality. Patients were less satisfied than clinicians in that they had communicated everything they wanted to (86% versus 95%). All (100%) patients thought that the video telemedicine solution met their needs, but 25% of clinicians believed that the patient experience of a video consultation was worse than a face-to-face clinic appointment. The three significant factors identified for introducing video consultations were successful IT, improved patient experience and digital healthcare records. Conclusions In the COVID-19 crisis, video telemedicine played a central role in outpatient consultations with excellent levels of success. With some differences in satisfaction level, clinicians significantly underestimate the level of patient satisfaction with outpatient video consultation.