Survey of Vitreoretinal Specialists in the United States Regarding Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Telemed J E Health
; 2022 May 24.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1864952
ABSTRACT
Objective:
To evaluate the attitudes, beliefs, and practice patterns of vitreoretinal specialists regarding the utilization of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify features which may predict future telemedicine use.Methods:
An 11-question anonymous survey was completed electronically in July 2020 by vitreoretinal specialists practicing in the United States.Results:
The survey response rate was 13.0% (361/2,774). Thirty-five respondents (9.7%) had used telemedicine before March 1, 2020; after March 1, 2020, 170 (47.1%) reported using telemedicine (p < 0.001). Of the 170 respondents who reported telemedicine use, a majority (65.3%;111/170) performed 0-5 patient visits per week. Female retina specialists, younger physicians, and those with prior telemedicine usage were more likely to use telemedicine. Barriers to telemedicine use included concern for misdiagnosis (332/361, 92.0%), inability to obtain optical coherence tomography imaging (330/361, 91.4%), inability to obtain fundus imaging (327/361, 90.6%), lack of access to and/or comfort with the technology (261/361, 72.3%), potential legal liability (229/361, 63.4%), and low reimbursement (227/361, 62.9%). The majority of respondents (225/361; 62.3%) reported that telemedicine without ancillary imaging was not an acceptable way to evaluate patients. However, 59.2% (214/361) would find telemedicine acceptable if remote imaging was available.Conclusions:
The pandemic led to a rapid adoption of telemedicine by vitreoretinal specialists. The majority of specialists using telemedicine performed five or fewer visits per week. The availability of remote imaging may increase confidence in clinical outcomes with a subsequent increase in utilization of telemedicine by vitreoretinal specialists.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal subject:
Medical Informatics
/
Health Services
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Tmj.2022.0031
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