Patients report telehealth consultations are safe and efficient during the COVID-19 pandemic
TUESDAY, Feb. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Dermatology patients have been overall very pleased with teledermatology consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online Jan. 14 in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.
Samuel Yeroushalmi, from the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., and colleagues conducted an online survey of 168 patients who completed telehealth appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The researchers found that the most common reasons for making a telehealth appointment were for a new rash (11.6 percent), eczema (9.8 percent), and psoriasis (9.1 percent). Cited benefits of telehealth included time efficiency (81.1 percent), not requiring transportation (74.2 percent), and maintaining social distancing (73.6 percent). Complaints about telehealth included lack of physical touch (26.8 percent) and feeling they received an inadequate assessment (15.7 percent). Only 9.9 percent of patients reported that they were unlikely to undertake another telehealth visit, and 6.9 percent would not recommend a telehealth visit to others.
“Overall, telemedicine represents an effective and safe vehicle for delivering care, especially during a global pandemic,” the authors write.
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