| Abstract | The objective of this study is to provide a systematic review of studies on patient
satisfaction with telemedicine. The review included empirical studies that
investigated patient satisfaction with that telemedicine service. The search
strategy involved matching at least one of 11 'telemedicine' terms with one of 5
'satisfaction' terms. The following databases were searched: Telemedicine
Information Exchange (TIE) database, MEDLINE, Science Citation Index
(SCI), Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), Psycinfo, and Citation Index of
Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL). A highly structured instrument was used
for data extraction. The review included 93 studies. Telepsychiatry represents
the largest portion of these studies (25%), followed by multispecialty care (14%),
nursing (11%), and dermatology (8%). Real-time videoconferencing was used in
88% of these studies. Only 19 (20%) included an independent control group,
including 9 (10%) randomized control trial (RCT) studies. One third of studies
were based on samples of less than 20 patients, and only 21% had samples of
over 100 patients. Aspects of patient satisfaction most commonly assessed
were: professional-patient interaction, the patient's feeling about the consultation,
and technical aspects of the consultation. Only 33% of the studies included a
measure of preference between telemedicine and face-to-face consultation.
Almost half the studies measured only 1 or 2 dimensions of satisfaction.
Reported levels of satisfaction with telemedicine are consistently greater than
80%, and frequently reported at 100%. Progression of telemedicine services
from "trial" status to routine health service must be supported by improved
research into patients' satisfaction with telemedicine. Further investigation of
factors that influence patient acceptance of telemedicine is indicated. |