How Does Telehealth Compare to In- Person Care? Qualitative Perspectives from an Outpatient Integrative Medicine Setting

ABSTRACT

Objective: Integrative medicine is a key framework for the treatment of chronic medical conditions, particularly chronic pain. In-person visits pose notable barriers for individuals with pain or limited mobility, particularly in rural or underserved areas. However, many barriers are pertinent to the expansion of telehealth use in integrative medicine settings, such as concerns about maintaining patient-clinician rapport in the delivery of holistic, relationship-based care. The COVID-19 pandemic served as impetus for an immediate and complete transition to telehealth services in this interdisciplinary outpatient integrative medicine clinic. This poster will present rich qualitative perspectives from multiple stakeholder levels on the experience of virtual visits to examine whether telehealth represents an acceptable, accessible, and high-quality option for providing integrative healthcare. Methods: Patients (N=180), providers (N=19), and administrative staff (N=7) in our outpatient integrative health clinic were surveyed about their experience of providing or receiving care via telehealth. Specifically, participants were asked to describe what telehealth visits were like in comparison to in-person visits. Free-text responses were analyzed for major and minor emergent themes. Results: Major themes identified from the data included acceptability, ease/convenience, comfort, interpersonal connection, technology difficulties, application of telehealth to group/movement classes, and equity/access. Overwhelmingly, participants described telehealth as an acceptable and adequate, at times equal or superior, alternative to in-person visits. Importantly, telehealth improved comfort for patients who could hold visits at home where they were most comfortable. Challenges were also welldescribed including technological issues and loss of interpersonal connection. Conclusion: Telehealth visits represent an acceptable, at times preferable, way to deliver care in an outpatient integrative medicine setting. Telehealth represents a particularly promising care modality for patients experiencing chronic pain or limited mobility, or those residing in rural and underserved communities. Detailed qualitative results provide rich perspective to inform future implementation and health policy regarding telehealth use.