The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physicians' Use and Perception of Telehealth: The Case of Lebanon.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 17(13)2020 07 06.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-639067
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic forced physicians to quickly adapt and find ways to provide their usual offline services by using online tools. We aimed to understand how physicians adapted to the sudden need for telehealth and if their perception of telehealth changed due to their experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an exploratory sequential mixed-methods study. We interviewed five Lebanese physicians and thematically analyzed the interviews. We developed a questionnaire based on the analysis results and administered it online to physicians in Lebanon. In total, 140 responses were collected. We found that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians engaged in more telehealth activities in the realms of telemedicine, public awareness, continuing medical education, research, administration, and teaching. They also expanded their repertoire of information-technology tools. Our results also show that there was a significant shift in the physicians' perceptions, indicating greater openness and willingness to adopt telehealth services. However, a significant amount of skepticism and uncertainty regarding telemedicine remains, especially concerning its efficiency, safety, and the adequacy of existing regulations. Based on our findings, we offer recommendations for health IT policy makers, developers, and researchers, to sustain the continuity of telehealth activities beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Physicians
/
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Telemedicine
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Pandemics
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph17134866
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