ABSTRACT
Background/aims: Community Palliative Care (CPC) in Ireland has traditionally been delivered face to face in the home or the outpatient clinic setting. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the introduction of Video Consultation (VC) as a modality of CPC service provision. Evidence supports the feasibility of VC in CPC. There is a paucity of evidence regarding patient satisfaction with key components of the palliative care consultation when delivered virtually. To incorporate VC into routine practice, evaluation of the service user experience is essential. Methods: Mixed quantitative and qualitative study. The formulated telephone questionnaire evaluated satisfaction with VC in three domains;Use of Technology, Communication using Video Technology and Components of the Palliative Care Consultation. Results were analysed descriptively with thematic analysis of free text additional information. Results: All patients (n=19) were satisfied or very satisfied with VC. The majority of patients (79%) had not used VC as a modality for interactions with healthcare professionals previously. All patients felt able to communicate what they wanted to say. The majority felt comfortable asking questions (84%) and most (78%) were not concerned that they could not be physically examined. Patients were satisfied with discussing physical symptoms (84%) and medications (100%). Areas that were not discussed or had less favourable feedback included spirituality and faith and discussing future care. Themes identified included: Flexibility offered by VC, identification of an ongoing role for VC and overall preference for face to face interaction. Conclusions: Patients were satisfied with VC as a mechanism of CPC provision overall. Levels of satisfaction varied across key components of the consultation demonstrating the strengths and limitations of this modality at present. This provides clinicians with valuable information to guide future research and service development.