Patient Satisfaction in Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics: In-Person vs Telemedicine

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Medicine
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Health Services Research

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth services in pediatric medical practices, particularly for children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
• There was a lack of comprehensive data on patient satisfaction with these rapidly implemented telehealth services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare patient satisfaction survey scores between in-person and telemedicine appointments for pediatric neurodevelopmental care.
• To evaluate the acceptability of telehealth as a care modality for this patient population.

Main Methods:

• Utilized routinely collected Press Ganey survey data to assess patient satisfaction.
• Compared the proportion of 'Top Box' scores (highest satisfaction category) for in-person versus telemedicine visits.
• Employed Fisher's exact test for statistical comparison between the two groups.

Main Results:

• The majority of respondents provided 'Top Box' scores for both in-person and telemedicine appointments.
• No statistically significant differences were observed in 'Top Box' percentages across any survey domain when comparing in-person and telemedicine visits.
• Patient satisfaction levels were comparable between in-person and telemedicine care modalities.

Conclusions:

• Telehealth appears to be an acceptable and effective modality for delivering care to children with neurodevelopmental concerns.
• Preliminary evidence suggests that families are satisfied with telehealth services, comparable to traditional in-person care.
• Further research can build upon these findings to optimize telehealth integration in neurodevelopmental pediatric care.