S0658 Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Perceptions of Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Telemedicine visits (TVs) are a modality for delivering health care services remotely through phone and videoconferencing tools. Data about Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients' characteristics and experience using TVs are limited. Recently, the use of telemedicine has reportedly increased in accordance with the social distancing measures practiced during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of use, characteristics and experience with TVs of IBD patients. METHODS: We performed a prospective survey of IBD patients on a popular social media platform www.Reddit.com during the month of May 2020. Members of sub-forums that provide support for IBD patients including r/IBD, r/CrohnsDisease and r/UlcertiveColitis were surveyed. Responses were collected using with a 15-question survey. RESULTS: 612 respondents completed the survey. 271 (44.3%) respondents reported using TVs to see their gastroenterologist during the COVID-19 pandemic. 201 (74.2%) respondents were living in North America, 59 (21.8%) were in Europe, 8 (3%) were in Oceania and 3 (1.1%) were in Asia. 144 (53.1%) respondents used the phone while 127 (46.9%) used a videoconferencing tool. The average rating for TVs was 3.68/5. 148 (54.6%) respondents did not experience any technical problems, 88 (32.5%) felt that the TV was less personable, 28 (10.3%) experienced poor video or sound quality, 25 (9.2%) needed multiple attempts to establish a connection, 4 (1.5%) had difficulty using the TV application and 11 (4.1%) had other problems. 235 (86.7%) respondents reported that they would use TVs for follow-up visits, 50 (18.5%) would use it for emergency visits, 44 (16.2%) would use it to establish care with a new gastroenterologist and 22 (8.1%) would never use TVs. 65 (24%) respondents prefer using TVs for their future visits, 113 (41.2%) will consider it while 95 (35%) preferred an in-office visit. Among the 341 (65.7%) respondents who did not use TVs, 82 (24.0%) reported that they would prefer to use a TV option in the future while 125 (36.7%) will consider it and 134 (39.3%) still preferred an in-office visit. CONCLUSION: In our study population, the majority of patients showed a favorable reaction towards the use of telemedicine in the delivery of their IBD care despite experiencing technical difficulties. Most patients preferred to use TVs primarily for follow-up visits. Future technical improvements are needed to increase patients' adoption of telemedicine use.Figure 1.: Technical Difficulties Experienced by Respondents During Telemedicine VisitsFigure 2.: Types of Preferred Telemedicine Visits.Figure 3.: Future Trends of Telemedicine Use among Current and Never Telemedicine users.