Patient Satisfaction with Virtual vs In-Person Voice Therapy

Area of Science:

• Speech-language pathology
• Telehealth
• Patient-centered care

Background:

• Patient satisfaction is a key metric for healthcare service quality.
• Voice therapy is increasingly delivered via virtual platforms, necessitating an evaluation of patient experience.
• Understanding patient satisfaction differences between in-person and virtual care is crucial for optimizing service delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare patient satisfaction levels between in-person and virtual voice therapy.
• To identify any demographic factors (age, gender, race) influencing satisfaction differences.

Main Methods:

• Patient satisfaction data from the NRC Health survey were collected for in-person (April 2019-February 2020) and virtual (April 2020-February 2021) voice therapy cohorts.
• Statistical analyses, including t tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests, were used to compare satisfaction scores.
• ANOVA models examined interactions between therapy modality and demographic variables.

Main Results:

• A total of 309 in-person and 224 virtual surveys were analyzed, with overall high satisfaction in both groups.
• No significant differences in satisfaction were found regarding referral likelihood, provider communication, or treatment plan comprehension.
• A significant interaction was observed for understanding post-visit instructions, with 18-44 year olds reporting better comprehension in the in-person group (P = 0.004).

Conclusions:

• Virtual voice therapy offers comparable patient satisfaction to in-person therapy.
• Both modalities demonstrate high patient satisfaction.
• Further research is needed to determine optimal patient and condition suitability for virtual versus in-person speech-language pathology services.