Patient Perspectives on Telehealth during the Pandemic in the United States
Telehealth is an advanced technology using digital information and telecommunication facilities that provide access to health services from a distance. It slows the transmission factor of COVID-19, especially for elderly patients and patients with chronic diseases during the pandemic. Therefore, understanding patient perspectives on telehealth services and the factors impacting their option of telehealth service will shed light on the measures that healthcare providers can take to improve the quality of telehealth services. This study aimed to evaluate perceptions of telehealth services among different patient groups and explore various aspects of telehealth utilization in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey distributed via social media platforms was used to collect research data. In addition to the descriptive statistics, both correlation and regression analyses were conducted to test research hypotheses. The empirical results highlighted that the factors such as accessibility to telehealth services and the type of specialty clinics that the patients required play important roles in the effectiveness of telehealth services they received. However, the results found that patients’ waiting time to receive telehealth services and their annual income did not significantly influence their desire to select receiving healthcare services via telehealth. The limitations of the study and future research directions are discussed.
[1] A. C. Smith, E. Thomas, C. L. Snoswell, H. Haydon, A. Mehrotra, J. Clemensen, and L. J. Caffery, "Telehealth for global emergencies: Implications for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)," (in eng), Journal of telemedicine and telecare, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 309-313, Jun 2020, doi: 10.1177/1357633x20916567.
[2] C. Ellimoottil, L. An, M. Moyer, S. Sossong, and J. E. Hollander, "Challenges and Opportunities Faced by Large Health Systems Implementing Telehealth," (in Eng), Health affairs vol. 37, no. 12, pp. 1955-1959, Dec 2018, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05099.
[3] K. Donelan, E. A. Barreto, S. Sossong, C. Michael, J. J. Estrada, A. B. Cohen, J. Wozniak, and L. H. Schwamm, "Patient and clinician experiences with telehealth for patient follow-up care," (in eng), The American journal of managed care, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 40-44, Jan 2019.
[4] J. Park, C. Erikson, X. Han, and P. Iyer, "Are State Telehealth Policies Associated With The Use Of Telehealth Services Among Underserved Populations?," Health Affairs, vol. 37, no. 12, pp. 2060-2068, 2018, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05101.
[5] C. C. Lin, A. Dievler, C. Robbins, A. Sripipatana, M. Quinn, and S. Nair, "Telehealth in Health Centers: Key Adoption Factors, Barriers, and Opportunities," (in eng), Health affairs vol. 37, no. 12, pp. 1967-1974, Dec 2018, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05125.
[6] E. Seto, D. Smith, M. Jacques, and P. P. Morita, "Opportunities and Challenges of Telehealth in Remote Communities: Case Study of the Yukon Telehealth System," (in eng), JMIR medical informatics, vol. 7, no. 4, p. e11353, Nov 1 2019, doi: 10.2196/11353.
[7] N. Kalal, N. Vel, S. Mundel, S. Daiyya, S. Dhayal, S. Bishnoi, S. Asiwal, and S. Jhajhariya, "Effectiveness and barriers of telehealth services during COVID-19 pandemic: A narrative review," Indian Journal of Medical Specialities, Review Article vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 4-8, January 1, 2022 2022, doi: 10.4103/injms.injms_62_21.
[8] K. A. Hirko, J. M. Kerver, S. Ford, C. Szafranski, J. Beckett, C. Kitchen, and A. L. Wendling, "Telehealth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for rural health disparities," (in eng), Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: JAMIA, vol. 27, no. 11, pp. 1816-1818, Nov 1 2020, doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa156.
[9] J. F. Lu, C. M. Chen, and C. Y. Hsu, "Effect of home telehealth care on blood pressure control: A public healthcare centre model," (in eng), Journal of telemedicine and telecare, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 35-45, Jan 2019, doi: 10.1177/1357633x17734258.
[10] P. A. Newman-Casey, L. De Lott, J. Cho, D. Ballouz, L. Azzouz, S. Saleh, and M. A. Woodward, "Telehealth-based Eye Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Utilization, Safety, and the Patient Experience," (in eng), American journal of ophthalmology, vol. 230, pp. 234-242, Oct 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2021.04.014.
[11] O. Bestsennyy, G. Gilbert, A. Harris, and J. Rost, "Telehealth: A quarter-trillion-dollar post-COVID-19 reality?," McKinsey & Compnay, 2021. (Online). Available: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/telehealth-a-quarter-trillion-dollar-post-covid-19-reality
[12] J. Wosik, M. Fudim, B. Cameron, Z. F. Gellad, A. Cho, D. Phinney, S. Curtis, M. Roman, E. G. Poon, J. Ferranti, J. N. Katz, and J. Tcheng, "Telehealth transformation: COVID-19 and the rise of virtual care," (in eng), Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: JAMIA, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 957-962, Jun 1 2020, doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa067.
[13] E. Monaghesh and A. Hajizadeh, "The role of telehealth during COVID-19 outbreak: a systematic review based on current evidence," BMC Public Health, vol. 20, no. 1, p. 1193, 2020/08/01 2020, doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09301-4.
[14] K. Wegermann, J. M. Wilder, A. Parish, D. Niedzwiecki, Z. F. Gellad, A. J. Muir, and Y. A. Patel, "Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Utilization of Telehealth in Patients with Liver Disease During COVID-19," (in eng), Digestive diseases and sciences, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 93-99, Jan 2022, doi: 10.1007/s10620-021-06842-5.
[15] F. Ahmad, R. W. Wysocki, J. J. Fernandez, M. S. Cohen, and X. C. Simcock, "Patient Perspectives on Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic," HAND, 2021, doi: 10.1177/15589447211030692.
[16] N. J. Salkind, Statistics for people who (think they) hate statistics: Using Microsoft Excel 5th ed. SAGE, 2021.
[1] A. C. Smith, E. Thomas, C. L. Snoswell, H. Haydon, A. Mehrotra, J. Clemensen, and L. J. Caffery, "Telehealth for global emergencies: Implications for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)," (in eng), Journal of telemedicine and telecare, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 309-313, Jun 2020, doi: 10.1177/1357633x20916567.
[2] C. Ellimoottil, L. An, M. Moyer, S. Sossong, and J. E. Hollander, "Challenges and Opportunities Faced by Large Health Systems Implementing Telehealth," (in Eng), Health affairs vol. 37, no. 12, pp. 1955-1959, Dec 2018, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05099.
[3] K. Donelan, E. A. Barreto, S. Sossong, C. Michael, J. J. Estrada, A. B. Cohen, J. Wozniak, and L. H. Schwamm, "Patient and clinician experiences with telehealth for patient follow-up care," (in eng), The American journal of managed care, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 40-44, Jan 2019.
[4] J. Park, C. Erikson, X. Han, and P. Iyer, "Are State Telehealth Policies Associated With The Use Of Telehealth Services Among Underserved Populations?," Health Affairs, vol. 37, no. 12, pp. 2060-2068, 2018, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05101.
[5] C. C. Lin, A. Dievler, C. Robbins, A. Sripipatana, M. Quinn, and S. Nair, "Telehealth in Health Centers: Key Adoption Factors, Barriers, and Opportunities," (in eng), Health affairs vol. 37, no. 12, pp. 1967-1974, Dec 2018, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05125.
[6] E. Seto, D. Smith, M. Jacques, and P. P. Morita, "Opportunities and Challenges of Telehealth in Remote Communities: Case Study of the Yukon Telehealth System," (in eng), JMIR medical informatics, vol. 7, no. 4, p. e11353, Nov 1 2019, doi: 10.2196/11353.
[7] N. Kalal, N. Vel, S. Mundel, S. Daiyya, S. Dhayal, S. Bishnoi, S. Asiwal, and S. Jhajhariya, "Effectiveness and barriers of telehealth services during COVID-19 pandemic: A narrative review," Indian Journal of Medical Specialities, Review Article vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 4-8, January 1, 2022 2022, doi: 10.4103/injms.injms_62_21.
[8] K. A. Hirko, J. M. Kerver, S. Ford, C. Szafranski, J. Beckett, C. Kitchen, and A. L. Wendling, "Telehealth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for rural health disparities," (in eng), Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: JAMIA, vol. 27, no. 11, pp. 1816-1818, Nov 1 2020, doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa156.
[9] J. F. Lu, C. M. Chen, and C. Y. Hsu, "Effect of home telehealth care on blood pressure control: A public healthcare centre model," (in eng), Journal of telemedicine and telecare, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 35-45, Jan 2019, doi: 10.1177/1357633x17734258.
[10] P. A. Newman-Casey, L. De Lott, J. Cho, D. Ballouz, L. Azzouz, S. Saleh, and M. A. Woodward, "Telehealth-based Eye Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Utilization, Safety, and the Patient Experience," (in eng), American journal of ophthalmology, vol. 230, pp. 234-242, Oct 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2021.04.014.
[11] O. Bestsennyy, G. Gilbert, A. Harris, and J. Rost, "Telehealth: A quarter-trillion-dollar post-COVID-19 reality?," McKinsey & Compnay, 2021. (Online). Available: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/telehealth-a-quarter-trillion-dollar-post-covid-19-reality
[12] J. Wosik, M. Fudim, B. Cameron, Z. F. Gellad, A. Cho, D. Phinney, S. Curtis, M. Roman, E. G. Poon, J. Ferranti, J. N. Katz, and J. Tcheng, "Telehealth transformation: COVID-19 and the rise of virtual care," (in eng), Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: JAMIA, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 957-962, Jun 1 2020, doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa067.
[13] E. Monaghesh and A. Hajizadeh, "The role of telehealth during COVID-19 outbreak: a systematic review based on current evidence," BMC Public Health, vol. 20, no. 1, p. 1193, 2020/08/01 2020, doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09301-4.
[14] K. Wegermann, J. M. Wilder, A. Parish, D. Niedzwiecki, Z. F. Gellad, A. J. Muir, and Y. A. Patel, "Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Utilization of Telehealth in Patients with Liver Disease During COVID-19," (in eng), Digestive diseases and sciences, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 93-99, Jan 2022, doi: 10.1007/s10620-021-06842-5.
[15] F. Ahmad, R. W. Wysocki, J. J. Fernandez, M. S. Cohen, and X. C. Simcock, "Patient Perspectives on Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic," HAND, 2021, doi: 10.1177/15589447211030692.
[16] N. J. Salkind, Statistics for people who (think they) hate statistics: Using Microsoft Excel 5th ed. SAGE, 2021.
@article{"International Journal of Medical, Medicine and Health Sciences:80802", author = "Manal Sultan Alhussein and Xiang Michelle Liu", title = "Patient Perspectives on Telehealth during the Pandemic in the United States", abstract = "Telehealth is an advanced technology using digital information and telecommunication facilities that provide access to health services from a distance. It slows the transmission factor of COVID-19, especially for elderly patients and patients with chronic diseases during the pandemic. Therefore, understanding patient perspectives on telehealth services and the factors impacting their option of telehealth service will shed light on the measures that healthcare providers can take to improve the quality of telehealth services. This study aimed to evaluate perceptions of telehealth services among different patient groups and explore various aspects of telehealth utilization in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey distributed via social media platforms was used to collect research data. In addition to the descriptive statistics, both correlation and regression analyses were conducted to test research hypotheses. The empirical results highlighted that the factors such as accessibility to telehealth services and the type of specialty clinics that the patients required play important roles in the effectiveness of telehealth services they received. However, the results found that patients’ waiting time to receive telehealth services and their annual income did not significantly influence their desire to select receiving healthcare services via telehealth. The limitations of the study and future research directions are discussed.", keywords = "Telehealth, patient satisfaction, pandemic, healthcare, remote patient monitor.", volume = "16", number = "5", pages = "70-7", }
