Telehealth for gynaecology outpatients during the COVID-19 pandemic: Patient and clinician experiences.

Abstract

BackgroundThe COVID‐19 pandemic has necessitated alterations in provision of health care and how patients access it. Telehealth has replaced traditional face‐to‐face outpatient clinics in an unprecedented manner. This study aimed to assess overall patient and clinician satisfaction with telehealth consultations, to establish acceptability of telehealth during pandemic and non‐pandemic times, and document feedback.Materials and MethodsA prospective observational study involving women presenting to a general gynaecology outpatient department was performed. Women who attended for consultation between 13 July and 4 September 2020 were invited to participate in a questionnaire following their telehealth appointment. Clinicians consulting in the outpatient department were invited to complete a questionnaire at the end of the eight‐week study period. Satisfaction, utility and acceptability data were obtained using visual analogue scales (VAS).ResultsTwenty‐six out of 56 (46.4%) clinicians and 124/870 (14.3%) patients completed the questionnaire. Patients who responded were older and more likely to have been born in Australia than women who did not (P = 0.0355 and P = 0.005, respectively). Overall patient satisfaction with telehealth was high (median VAS (interquartile range), 8.6 (5.6–9.8)). More women found telehealth to be acceptable during a pandemic than afterward (8.9 vs 6.6, P < 0.0001). Clinicians were less satisfied with telehealth than patients (7.1 vs 8.6, P = 0.02); however, most would be happy to continue using telehealth in non‐pandemic times (7.0 (6.2–9.8)).ConclusionTelehealth consultations allow provision of gynaecological care at a time when reducing risk of infection to patients and staff is paramount. Telehealth gynaecology consultations are efficient and convenient without significant detriment to patient or clinician satisfaction.