Telemedicine Versus Traditional In-Person Consultations: Comparison of Patient Satisfaction Rates

Large-Scale Population Screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 Ashkenazi Founder Mutations: Perspectives of Professionals Providing Oncogenetic Consultations

Introduction

In March 2020, a nationwide population carrier screening for BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants among Ashkenazi Jewish women was initiated in Israel. We aimed to assess views regarding the program among professionals who provide oncogenetic counseling for detected carriers.

Methods

An online survey was distributed to clinical geneticists and genetic counselors.

Results

The participants' impression was that most carriers did not comprehend the implications of a positive result when deciding to take the test. Some carriers, in retrospect, regretted taking it. Some had a known mutation carrier in the family, and some had a family history that justified a broader test (and so should not have been tested through the screening program). Eight survey participants (29%) reported they were initially against the screening program, but half of them are currently in favor of it. Most participants are unsatisfied with the way the screening is conducted and suggested various improvements. Emotional distress of carriers, as assessed by participants, was higher for those detected by the screening program, compared to those tested after oncogenetic counseling. No association was found between the age, profession, and prior experience of participants and their responses.

Conclusions

While the general attitude toward the screening program is positive, most professionals feel the need to improve the current screening program by defining exclusion criteria, providing comprehensive pretest information and adding other BRCA1/2 founder mutations, as well as expanding the screening to include ethnicities other than Ashkenazi Jews.

Patient Satisfaction with Telehealth Services in Primary Care

Objective: Patient satisfaction is an imperative factor in integrating telehealth services as a treatment modality in health care systems. Here, we compared patient satisfaction from telehealth versus in-person health care visits in a large heterogeneous population. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients making telehealth or in-person primary care visits between January 2021 and August 2022. Patient satisfaction with both service types was evaluated using a validated survey. Logistic regression models were employed to assess the association between type of visit (in-person/telehealth) and patient satisfaction (satisfied/unsatisfied) while accounting for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Results: Of the 247,087 surveys included in the study, 86,580 (35%) were answered following telehealth visits. Telehealth visitors were more satisfied than in-person visitors in aspects related to doctor-patient interactions, such as "courtesy and respect," "attentive listening," and "coherent explanations" (aOR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.14-1.21; aOR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.12-1.19; aOR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.12-1.18, respectively), and less satisfied in aspects related to indirect services, such as adherence to appointment scheduling, effort required on the part of the patient, and staff cooperation (aOR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93-0.97; aOR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.87-0.91; aOR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.83-0.87, respectively). Importantly, considerably more telehealth visits were delayed (44%) than in-person visits (27%). Adjustment for this factor further strengthened the observed association between telehealth services and patient satisfaction. Conclusions: While telehealth was associated with high levels of satisfaction in doctor-patient interaction, improvements are still needed in indirect services. Addressing issues related to staff cooperation and streamlining processes to reduce delays could improve overall patient satisfaction with telehealth.

Enhancing Post-Mastectomy Care: Telehealth's Impact on Breast Reconstruction Accessibility for Breast Cancer Patients

OBJECTIVE

To examine how the recent sharp rise in telemedicine has impacted trends in accessibility of breast reconstruction (BR).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective study reviewed patients who underwent a total mastectomy at our institution from 1 August 2016 to 31 January 2022. By comparing cohorts before and during the widespread implementation of telemedicine, we assessed telehealth's impact on healthcare accessibility, measured by distance from patients' residences to our institution.

RESULTS

A total of 359 patients were included in this study. Of those, 176 received total mastectomy prior to the availability of telemedicine, and 183 in the subsequent period. There were similar baseline characteristics among patients undergoing mastectomy, including distance from place of residence to hospital (p = 0.67). The same proportion elected to receive BR between groups (p = 0.22). Those declining BR traveled similar distances as those electing the procedure, both before the era of widespread telemedicine adoption (40.3 and 35.6 miles, p = 0.56) and during the height of telemedicine use (22.3 and 61.3 miles, p = 0.26). When tracking follow-up care, significantly more patients during the pandemic pursued at least one follow-up visit with their original surgical team, indicative of the increased utilization of telehealth services.

CONCLUSIONS

While the rate of BR remained unchanged during the pandemic, our findings reveal significant shifts in healthcare utilization, highly attributed to the surge in telehealth adoption. This suggests a transformative impact on breast cancer care, emphasizing the need for continued exploration of telemedicine's role in enhancing accessibility and patient follow-up in the post-pandemic era.

Satisfaction with Telehealth Care in the United States: Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Telehealth use remains high following the COVID-19 pandemic, but patient satisfaction with telehealth care is unclear. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 6). 2,058 English and Spanish-speaking U.S. adults (≥18 years) with a telehealth visit in the 12 months before March-November 2022 were included in this study. The primary outcomes were telehealth visit modality and satisfaction in the 12 months before HINTS 6. We evaluated sociodemographic predictors of telehealth visit modality and satisfaction via Poisson regression. Analyses were weighted according to HINTS standards. Results: We included 2,058 participants (48.4 ± 16.8 years; 57% women; 66% White), of which 70% had an audio-video and 30% an audio-only telehealth visit. Adults with an audio-video visit were more likely to have health insurance (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR]: 1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18-2.04) and have an annual household income of ≥$75,000 (aPR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.00-1.39) and less likely to be ≥65 years (aPR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.70-0.89), adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. No further inequities were noted by telehealth modality. Seventy-five percent of participants felt that their telehealth visits were as good as in-person care. No significant differences in telehealth satisfaction were observed across sociodemographic characteristics, telehealth modality, or the participants' primary reason for their most recent telehealth visit in adjusted analysis. Conclusions: Among U.S. adults with a telehealth visit, the majority had an audio-video visit and were satisfied with their care. Telehealth should continue, being offered following COVID-19, as it is uniformly valued by patients.