Factors Affecting Family Caregivers' Satisfaction During Virtual Care Visits.

There are 18 million caregivers in the US who are essential in the care process for patients to facilitate scheduling appointments, administer medication, and assist with care coordination. The objective of this study was to examine the facilitators and barriers to a positive virtual care experience for caregivers. examined the satisfaction levels among caregivers using a virtual care service at a Southeastern Medical Center in the U.S. We analyzed 231 virtual care visits completed by caregivers. We found that insurance status and medication prescription played a significant role in caregivers' ratings of their virtual care experience. Caregivers reported that virtual care can improve their quality of life, while mixed opinions were reported with regard to the use of virtual care, and the quality of care provided.

Utilization and Satisfaction of an On-Demand Telemedicine Service in Urban and Rural Communities.

Health disparities between urban and rural America have been studied extensively, and findings consistently show many inequities. The objective of this study was to evaluate patient experiences and utilization among patients in North Carolina who use telemedicine. A retrospective cohort study was performed to examine the utilization and satisfaction of patients using a virtual care service at a Southeastern Medical Center in the U.S. Of 1974 telemedicine patients, 1366 (79.3%) were female, 1046(60.7%) were between 35-64 years, 913(53%) had insurance coverage. Statistically significant differences between rural and urban patients in how patients rated both their provider (p<0.01) and overall telemedicine experience (p<0.01). Our findings showed high satisfaction scores among both rural and urban communities in using the telemedicine platform with slightly higher scores among rural patients, which shows the need for on-demand telemedicine to increase health access and patient outcomes among rural communities.