Usage and perceptions of telemedicine among health care professionals in China. (October 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ma, Qianqian; Sun, Dongxu; Tan, Zhongke; Li, Chenchen; He, Xianying; Zhai, Yunkai; Wang, Linlin; Cui, Fangfang; Li, Mingyuan; Gao, Jinghong; Wang, Lin; Zhao, Jie
• Is Part Of: International journal of medical informatics. Volume 166(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-10
• Subjects: Telemedicine -- Health care professionals -- Utilization -- Perceptions -- Attitude; Medical informatics -- Periodicals; Information science -- Periodicals; Computers -- Periodicals; Medical technology -- Periodicals; Medical Informatics -- Periodicals; Technology, Medical -- Periodicals; Computers; Information science; Medical informatics; Medical technology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 610.285
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2022.104856
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1386-5056

Abstract

Highlights: A nationwide survey was conducted to explore health care professionals' usage and perceptions of telemedicine in China. Health care professionals are the critical users of telemedicine in China. Their usage of telemedicine is relatively infrequent. Most health care professionals in different regions have fairly positive evaluations and attitudes towards telemedicine services, with high service satisfaction and willingness to use and recommend in China. Problems in the practical application of telemedicine, which are of deep concern to Chinese health care professionals, include infrastructure, service process, charge and cost, and popularity. Abstract: Objective: To explore health care professionals' usage and perceptions of telemedicine, including their experience, evaluation and attitude towards telemedicine, and the factors affecting their satisfaction, using intention, and willingness to recommend telemedicine. Methods: A nationwide and web-based survey was conducted. Statistical charts were used to describe the usage and perceptions of telemedicine by health care professionals. And the ordinal logistic regression was applied to analyze the influencing factors. Results: A total of 1349 valid questionnaires were collected. In the survey, 74.0 % of Chinese health care professionals used telemedicine once a week. The average duration of participating in telemedicine services lasted mainly 11–30 min (64.0 %). More than half (52.5 %) of participants' hospitals adopted fee subsidy measures, followed by the award for excellent evaluation (36.4 %). The majority (92.5 %) believed that telemedicine could reduce patient referral rates. More than 95 % were satisfied with telemedicine, were willing to continue, and would recommend telemedicine for patients, respectively. The main problems existing were: incomplete system equipment, insufficient timeliness, high costs, inability to reimburse medical insurance, non-standardized medical records, inadequate publicity, cumbersome processes and long waiting time. Ordinal logistic regression showed that too short service duration (≤10 min) could significantly reduce medical professionals' overall satisfaction, using intention and willingness to recommend ( P = 0.026, P = 0.017 and P = 0.040 respectively), while the convenience of the operating system had a significant positive impact ( P = 0.005, P = 0.003 and P = 0.001 respectively). And cost subsidy incentive and the promotion of professional titles could significantly enhance their overall satisfaction( P = 0.006, P = 0.030), using intention ( P = 0.011, P = 0.001), and willingness to recommend ( P = 0.040, P = 0.004). Conclusions: The usage of telemedicine is relatively insufficient. Most health care professionals have fairly positive opinions toward telemedicine. The most mentioned issues and expectations for telemedicine can be roughly divided into four categories: infrastructure, service process, charge and cost, and popularity. It is possible to improve their evaluation by improving system convenience, enhancing service punctuality, avoiding excessively short service duration and adopting incentive measures.