Patient Satisfaction with Telehealth Services in Primary Care

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Digital Health
• Patient Experience

Background:

• Patient satisfaction is crucial for telehealth integration into healthcare systems.
• Comparing patient satisfaction between telehealth and in-person visits is essential for optimizing healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare patient satisfaction with telehealth versus in-person primary care visits.
• To identify specific aspects of care that influence satisfaction in both modalities.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 247,087 primary care visits (January 2021 - August 2022).
• Validated patient satisfaction surveys were used to evaluate telehealth and in-person visits.
• Logistic regression models analyzed the association between visit type and satisfaction, controlling for patient characteristics.

Main Results:

• Telehealth visits showed higher satisfaction in doctor-patient interactions (e.g., respect, listening, explanations).
• Lower satisfaction was reported for telehealth in indirect services like scheduling adherence, patient effort, and staff cooperation.
• Telehealth visits experienced significantly more delays (44%) compared to in-person visits (27%).

Conclusions:

• Telehealth enhances satisfaction with direct clinical interactions but requires improvements in operational efficiency.
• Addressing delays and improving staff cooperation can significantly boost overall patient satisfaction with telehealth services.
• Optimizing indirect service aspects is key to maximizing the benefits of telehealth in healthcare.