Patient attitudes towards remote memory clinic assessment

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Informatics
• Clinical Neurology

Background:

• UK memory clinics face high demand, limiting consultant interaction for patients.
• Remote assessment technologies offer potential for cognitive assessment and disease tracking.
• Perceived barriers to remote assessment in memory clinics may have shifted due to COVID-19.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate patient attitudes towards remote assessment in memory clinics.
• Assess technology access, experience, and confidence among memory clinic patients.
• Understand patient preferences for remote versus in-person consultations and assessments.

Main Methods:

• A standardized semi-quantitative survey was administered to patients awaiting memory clinic assessment.
• The survey, developed with service-user input, captured technology access, usage, and comfort with remote care.
• Data were collected between June and September 2020 from Oxfordshire memory clinic patients.

Main Results:

• High technology access was reported (82% telephone, 58% digital devices).
• Initial low confidence in video conferencing (7%) improved with support.
• While comfort with remote assessments increased with assistance, 62% preferred waiting for in-person visits.

Conclusions:

• Memory clinic patients demonstrate technology availability but a reluctance towards remote assessment.
• A tiered approach is needed to accommodate individual technology confidence and support levels.
• The Oxford Brain Health Centre can research and implement this tiered approach in clinical practice.