Abstract
BackgroundTelehealth aims to revolutionize health care by migrating health care from hospitals and satellite clinics directly into the home and onto mobile devices. Telehealth has the potential to increase public access to healthcare in China, where large segments of the population remain underserved, yet little is known about current attitudes and use of telehealth in the country. ObjectiveOur aim was to determine attitudes and use of telehealth in China among medical professionals and patients, as well as identify factors that may affect its use. MethodsUsing a custom-designed questionnaire, we performed a cross-sectional survey of medical professionals, medical students and patients at three large hospitals in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. We used a structural model to analyze the influence of factors that may affect use of telehealth. ResultsOf 600 questionnaires that were distributed, 550 (96.49%) were analyzed. Most respondents (63.28%) were familiar with using telehealth to “schedule medical appointments/pay medical fees online”, but relatively few (28.55%) used this feature. Nearly half of respondents were familiar with the concept of a “virtual visit” (46.18%), but only 12.18% had ever engaged in such visits. Medical professionals and students generally showed higher awareness and greater use of telehealth than patients. The strongest concern about telehealth among respondents was “authenticity and reliability of data from remote monitoring of patients” (75.17%). The proportion of respondents concerned about the potential disadvantages of telehealth was highest among students and lowest among patients. Awareness and use of telehealth were associated with previous experience with health-related use of the Internet and experience with traditional forms of telehealth, but not with social status or attitude toward telehealth. ConclusionsMedical professionals and patients alike in China have a high awareness of telehealth, primarily traditional forms of telehealth, but only a small percentage actually use it. Patients have much lower awareness and use of telehealth than medical professionals and medical students, though they have generally positive attitudes towards telehealth. Telehealth is still in its infancy in China, and the environment for its development is largely favorable among current and future medical professionals.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.