Patient Satisfaction with the Implementation of Telehealth in Ambulatory Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single Institution Experience

Abstract

Background. COVID-19 has reduced the capacity for delivering essential health services due to lockdown restrictions. Telehealth is an effective alternative option to improve healthcare access. However, there remain implementation challenges to patient adoption in resource-limited settings such as Ethiopia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess patient satisfaction following the implementation of telehealth in ambulatory settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia. Patients who used the telehealth service were invited to participate in a patient satisfaction survey. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA Version 14.1. Result. A total of 149 patients have participated in the survey. Out of the total participants, 129 (86.6%) found that telehealth is easy to understand and overall satisfaction for telehealth was 87.9%. About two-thirds of the patients (97, 65.1%) reported that the telehealth visit is just as good as a traditional visit. The vast majority of participants (148, 98.6%) stated that they would definitely or probably use telehealth again and would recommend it to others. The majority of respondents (137, 91.9%) followed the recommendations provided. Conclusion. Patients have a high level of satisfaction with the use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. About two-thirds of patients said the telehealth visit was just as good as a traditional visit. The majority of patients followed the recommendations given to them by the healthcare providers and stated that they would definitely or probably use telehealth in the future and would recommend it to others. This high level of patient satisfaction with telehealth implementation suggests that the service could be considered in low-income countries as well.