ABSTRACT
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has once again raised awareness of the potential of telemedicine as a cost-effective and, given the human resource constraints, tremendous opportunity to reach out to patients. However, the adoption of virtual technologies as well as advanced practice nurses (APN) behind such services may not fully be supported by healthcare providers and patients. The aim of our study was to assess the attitudes of general practitioners (GPs) and lay people towards telemedicine and to explore the openness of the Hungarian population and primary care physicians towards virtual healthcare and the extended scope of university registered nurses. Methods: Non-random, purposive sampling was performed. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire, separately for physicians and laypersons, which included socio-demographic, telemedicine-related and APN preference questions. Data analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0 statistical software, descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney test were used for comparisons (p<0.05). Results: The public was more open to accept the use of smart devices than GPs (p<0.001), but doctors preferred internet contact more compared to laypersons (p<0.001). If doctors and APNs were believed to have the same level of competency, lay people would equally choose to see a doctor or an APN nurse (p>0.05). More than 50% (60.5%) of doctors would only approve APNs working independently if they did so under professional supervision. Conclusions: Telemedicine was generally welcome by GPs. Assuming equal service quality, laypersons did not reject nurse consultation. The provision of telemedicine health services in GP practices should also be part of the APN competence. Development of a legal framework for independent APN services and designing telemedicine protocols are warranted.