Telemedicine for head and neck ambulatory visits during COVID-19: Evaluating usability and patient satisfaction.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid increase in telemedicine visits. Otolaryngology patient satisfaction with these visits has not yet been extensively studied using a validated survey. METHODS: All patients who had telemedicine visits with three head and neck surgeons, by phone or video-based platform, between March 25, 2020 and April 24, 2020. Retrospective chart reviews were conducted to determine demographic, disease, and treatment information. Patients who had a video visit were contacted by telephone and, if they could be reached and consented, were administered the telehealth usability questionnaire (TUQ). RESULTS: Hundred surveys were completed. The average score across all questions was 6.01 on a scale from 1 to 7, where 7 indicated the highest level of patient agreement. The highest scores were for questions related to satisfaction with telehealth (6.29), while the lowest were related to reliability (4.86). CONCLUSIONS: Patients are generally highly satisfied with telemedicine.