Caregiver satisfaction with the use of telemedicine in the neurodevelopmental evaluation of children at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center

ABSTRACT

Objectives@#This study aims to assess caregiver satisfaction with the use of telemedicine in the evaluation of children referred for neurodevelopmental evaluation at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics Clinic.@*Materials and Methods@#A survey was conducted on caregivers of pediatric patients aged 3 months to 18 years and 11 months old for neurodevelopmental evaluation. A questionnaire to determine the demographic and clinical data and Parent/Caregiver-Reported Satisfaction Form were administered via email, Facebook messenger or phone call.@*Results@#Seventy-three caregivers completed the questionnaire. Most (95.9%) were mothers, 47.9% were college graduates with one parent working and 43% have an income of 10,000-20,000. Almost half (47.9%) of the children they care for were ages 3-months to 2-year 11 -months, predominantly males, with 35.6% diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and 69.9% were new patients. Caregivers were very highly satisfied with telemedicine in all domains (technical functioning, comfort and perceived privacy, access to care and overall satisfaction) as it obtained a mean of 4.51 and median of 5.00. There was no significant difference in the responses based on the age of the child and type of visit.@*Conclusion@#Caregivers showed very high level of satisfaction with the use of telemedicine in the neurodevelopmental evaluation of children at PCMC and holds a significant promise for its use both within the context of the pandemic and beyond.@*Recommendations@#Further studies on caregivers’ satisfaction with the use of telemedicine over a sustained period and comparing telemedicine and in-person assessment are recommended.