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How is Telemedicine perceived? A qualitative study of perspectives from the UK and India.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Improvements in communication and information technologies have allowed for the globalisation of health services, especially the provision of health services from other countries, such as the use of telemedicine. This has led countries to evaluate their position on whether and to what extent they should open their health systems to trade. This often takes place from the context of multi-lateral trade agreements (under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation), which is misplaced as a significant amount of trade takes place regionally or bi-laterally. We report here the results of a qualitative study assessing stakeholders' views on the potential for a bi-lateral trade relationship between India and the UK, where India acts as an exporter and the UK as an importer of telemedicine services. METHODS:19 semi-structured interviews were carried out with stakeholders from India and the UK. The themes discussed include prospects on the viability of a bi-lateral relationship between the UK and India on telemedicine, current activities and operations, barriers, benefits and risks. RESULTS:The participants in general believed there were good prospects for telemedicine trade, and that this could bring benefits to "importing" countries in terms of cost-savings and faster delivery of care and to "exporting" countries in the form of foreign exchange and quality improvement. However, there were some concerns regarding quality of care, regulation, accreditation and data security. CONCLUSIONS:There is potential for trade in this type of health services to succeed and bring about important benefits to the countries involved. However, issues around data security and accreditation need to be taken into consideration. Countries may wish to consider entering bi-lateral agreements, as they provide more potential to address the concerns and capitalise on the benefits. Finally, this paper concludes that more data should be collected, both on the volume of telemedicine trade and on the impact it is having on health systems, as currently there is very limited data on this.

SUBMITTER: Martinez Alvarez M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3117690 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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How is Telemedicine perceived? A qualitative study of perspectives from the UK and India.

Martínez Álvarez Melisa M Chanda Rupa R Smith Richard D RD

Globalization and health 20110520

<h4>Background</h4>Improvements in communication and information technologies have allowed for the globalisation of health services, especially the provision of health services from other countries, such as the use of telemedicine. This has led countries to evaluate their position on whether and to what extent they should open their health systems to trade. This often takes place from the context of multi-lateral trade agreements (under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation), which is mis ...[more]

PMID: 21599962

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Project description:BackgroundGlobalisation has prompted countries to evaluate their position on trade in health services. However, this is often done from a multi-lateral, rather than a regional or bi-lateral perspective. In a previous review, we concluded that most of the issues raised could be better addressed from a bi-lateral relationship. We report here the results of a qualitative exercise to assess stakeholders' perceptions on the prospects for such a bi-lateral system, and its ability to address concerns associated with medical tourism.Methods30 semi-structured interviews were carried out with stakeholders, 20 in India and 10 in the UK, to assess their views on the potential offered by a bi-lateral relationship on medical tourism between both countries. Issues discussed include data availability, origin of medical tourists, quality and continuity of care, regulation and litigation, barriers to medical tourism, policy changes needed, and prospects for such a bi-lateral relationship.ResultsThe majority of stakeholders were concerned about the quality of health services patients would receive abroad, regulation and litigation procedures, lack of continuity of care, and the effect of such trade on the healthcare available to the local population in India. However, when considering trade from a bi-lateral point of view, there was disagreement on how these issues would apply. There was further disagreement on the importance of the Diaspora and the validity of the UK's 'rule' that patients should not fly more than three hours to obtain care. Although the opinion on the prospects for an India-UK bi-lateral relationship was varied, there was no consensus on what policy changes would be needed for such a relationship to take place.ConclusionsWhilst the literature review previously carried out suggested that a bi-lateral relationship would be best-placed to address the concerns regarding medical tourism, there was scepticism from the analysis provided in this paper based on the over-riding feeling that the political 'cost' involved was likely to be the major impediment. This makes the need for better evidence even more acute, as much of the current policy process could well be based on entrenched ideological positions, rather than secure evidence of impact.

Project description:BackgroundGeneralized restriction of movement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, together with unprecedented pressure on the health system, has disrupted routine care for non-COVID-19 patients. Telemedicine should be vigorously promoted to reduce the risk of infections and to offer medical assistance to restricted patients.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to understand physicians' attitudes toward and perspectives of telemedicine during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to provide support for better implementation of telemedicine.MethodsWe surveyed all physicians (N=148), from October 17 to 25, 2020, who attended the clinical informatics PhD program at West China Medical School, Sichuan University, China. The physicians came from 57 hospitals in 16 provinces (ie, municipalities) across China, 54 of which are 3A-level hospitals, two are 3B-level hospitals, and one is a 2A-level hospital.ResultsAmong 148 physicians, a survey response rate of 87.2% (129/148) was attained. The average age of the respondents was 35.6 (SD 3.9) years (range 23-48 years) and 67 out of 129 respondents (51.9%) were female. The respondents come from 37 clinical specialties in 55 hospitals located in 14 provinces (ie, municipalities) across Eastern, Central, and Western China. A total of 94.6% (122/129) of respondents' hospitals had adopted a telemedicine system; however, 34.1% (44/129) of the physicians had never used a telemedicine system and only 9.3% (12/129) used one frequently (≥1 time/week). A total of 91.5% (118/129) and 88.4% (114/129) of physicians were willing to use telemedicine during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. Physicians considered the inability to examine patients in person to be the biggest concern (101/129, 78.3%) and the biggest barrier (76/129, 58.9%) to implementing telemedicine.ConclusionsTelemedicine is not yet universally available for all health care needs and has not been used frequently by physicians in this study. However, the willingness of physicians to use telemedicine was high. Telemedicine still has many problems to overcome.

Project description:BackgroundSince the COVID-19 pandemic onset, telemedicine has increased exponentially across numerous outpatient departments and specialties. Qualitative studies examining clinician telemedicine perspectives during the pandemic identified challenges with physical examination, workflow concerns, burnout, and reduced personal connection with patients. However, these studies only included a relatively small number of physicians or were limited to a single specialty, and few assessed perspectives on integrating trainees into workflows, an important area to address to support the clinical learning environment. As telemedicine use continues, it is necessary to understand a range of clinician perspectives.ObjectiveThis study aims to survey pediatric and adult medicine clinicians at the University of Chicago Medical Center to understand their telemedicine benefits and barriers, workflow impacts, and training and support needs.MethodsIn July 2020, we conducted an observational cross-sectional study of University of Chicago Medical Center faculty and advanced practice providers in the Department of Medicine (DOM) and Department of Pediatrics (DOP).ResultsThe overall response rate was 39% (200/517; DOM: 135/325, 42%; DOP: 65/192, 34%); most respondents were physicians (DOM: 100/135, 74%; DOP: 51/65, 79%). One-third took longer to prepare for (65/200, 33%) and conduct (62/200, 32%) video visits compared to in-person visits. Male clinicians reported conducting a higher percentage of telemedicine visits by video than their female counterparts (P=.02), with no differences in the number of half-days per week providing direct outpatient care or supervising trainees. Further, clinicians who conducted a higher percentage of their telemedicine by video were less likely to feel overwhelmed (P=.02), with no difference in reported burnout. Female clinicians were "more overwhelmed" with video visits compared to males (41/130, 32% vs 12/64, 19%; P=.05). Clinicians 50 years or older were "less overwhelmed" than those younger than 50 years (30/85, 35% vs 23/113, 20%; P=.02). Those who received more video visit training modalities (eg, a document and webinar on technical issues) were less likely to feel overwhelmed by the conversion to video visits (P=.007) or burnt out (P=.009). In addition, those reporting a higher ability to technically navigate a video visit were also less likely to feel overwhelmed by video visits (P=.02) or burnt out (P=.001). The top telemedicine barriers were patient-related: lack of technology access, lack of skill, and reluctance. Training needs to be focused on integrating learners into workflows. Open-ended responses highlighted a need for increased support staff. Overall, more than half "enjoyed conducting video visits" (119/200, 60%) and wanted to continue using video visits in the future (150/200, 75%).ConclusionsDespite positive telemedicine experiences, more support to facilitate video visits for patients and clinicians is needed. Further, clinicians need additional training on trainee education and integration into workflows. Further work is needed to better understand why gender and age differences exist. In conclusion, interventions to address clinician and patient barriers, and enhance clinician training are needed to support telemedicine's durability.

Project description:To explore how representatives from organisations with responsibility for doctors in training perceive risks to the educational progression of UK medical graduates from black and minority ethnic groups (BME UKGs), and graduates of non-UK medical schools (international medical graduates (IMGs)). To identify the barriers to and facilitators of change.Qualitative semistructured individual and group interview study.Postgraduate medical education in the UK.Individuals with roles in examinations and/or curriculum design from UK medical Royal Colleges. Employees of NHS Employers.Representatives from 11 medical Royal Colleges (n=29) and NHS Employers (n=2) took part (55% medically qualified, 61% male, 71% white British/Irish, 23% Asian/Asian British, 6% missing ethnicity). Risks were perceived as significant, although more so for IMGs than for BME UKGs. Participants based significance ratings on evidence obtained largely through personal experience. A lack of evidence led to downgrading of significance. Participants were pessimistic about effecting change, two main barriers being sensitivities around race and the isolation of interventions. Participants felt that organisations should acknowledge problems, but felt concerned about being transparent without a solution; and talking about race with trainees was felt to be difficult. Participants mentioned 63 schemes aiming to address differential attainment, but these were typically local or specialty-specific, were not aimed at BME UKGs and were largely unevaluated. Participants felt that national change was needed, but only felt empowered to effect change locally or within their specialty.Representatives from organisations responsible for training doctors perceived the risks faced by BME UKGs and IMGs as significant but difficult to change. Strategies to help organisations address these risks include: increased openness to discussing race (including ethnic differences in attainment among UKGs); better sharing of information and resources nationally to empower organisations to effect change locally and within specialties; and evaluation of evidence-based interventions.

Project description:BackgroundBedside manner describes how clinicians relate to patients in person. Telemedicine allows clinicians to connect virtually with patients using digital tools. Effective virtual communication or webside manner may require modifications to traditional bedside manner.ObjectiveThis study aims to understand the experiences of telemedicine providers with patient-to-provider virtual visits and communication with families at a single large-volume children's hospital to inform program development and training for future clinicians.MethodsA total of 2 focus groups of pediatric clinicians (N=11) performing virtual visits before the COVID-19 pandemic, with a range of experiences and specialties, were engaged to discuss experiential, implementation, and practice-related issues. Focus groups were facilitated using a semistructured guide covering general experience, preparedness, rapport strategies, and suggestions. Sessions were digitally recorded, and the corresponding transcripts were reviewed for data analysis. The transcripts were coded based on the identified main themes and subthemes. On the basis of a higher-level analysis of these codes, the study authors generated a final set of key themes to describe the collected data.ResultsTheme consistency was identified across diverse participants, although individual clinician experiences were influenced by their specialties and practices. A total of 3 key themes emerged regarding the development of best practices, barriers to scalability, and establishing patient rapport. Issues and concerns related to privacy were salient across all themes. Clinicians felt that telemedicine required new skills for patient interaction, and not all were comfortable with their training.ConclusionsTelemedicine provides benefits as well as challenges to health care delivery. In interprofessional focus groups, pediatric clinicians emphasized the importance of considering safety and privacy to promote rapport and webside manner when conducting virtual visits. The inclusion of webside manner instructions within training curricula is crucial as telemedicine becomes an established modality for providing health care.

Project description:Current soil-transmitted helminth (STH) programs target morbidity control with school-based deworming. Increasing interest in steering neglected tropical disease (NTD) programmes from morbidity control towards disease elimination has prompted evaluation of strategies that may interrupt transmission. The feasibility of interrupting transmission of STH with community-wide deworming is being tested in the ongoing DeWorm3 cluster randomized trial. Gender-based perspectives about susceptibility to infection and need for treatment have been shown to influence both health-seeking behaviour and health outcomes. We carried out a qualitative study among men and women in the community to understand their knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes about STH infections and community-wide mass drug administration (cMDA). Eight semi-structured focus group discussions were conducted among men and women residing in the DeWorm3 study site in India-Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts of Tamil Nadu. Thematic coding was used to analyse the transcripts in ATLAS.ti 8.0. Both men and women in this study demonstrated a high level of STH knowledge but some men had misconceptions that intestinal worms were beneficial. Men and women shared several similar beliefs and attitudes regarding STH treatment. Both believed that adults were likely to have STH infections and both reported that stigma prevented them from seeking treatment. Influenced by gender norms, women were more likely to associate STH infections with inadequate sanitation and hygiene, while men were more likely to believe that those engaged in agricultural work were at risk. Both genders reported a positive attitude towards cMDA for STH. Barriers to cMDA implementation differed by gender; women expressed concern regarding side-effects and drug quality while men were concerned that treatment coverage may be affected due to the absence of people during the day when the drug is distributed. Both men and women perceived the treatment of adults for STH infections to be important, however, the perceived barriers to participating in cMDA differed by gender in this community. The study identified key messages to be incorporated in communication and outreach strategies for cMDA programmes.

Dataset Information

How is Telemedicine perceived? A qualitative study of perspectives from the UK and India.

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How is Telemedicine perceived? A qualitative study of perspectives from the UK and India.

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