Title: A qualitative assessment of patient and provider satisfaction with new implementation of a telemedicine system

Authors: Elizabeth E. Hill, Sharon S. DeRuvo

Addresses: Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii, USA. Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany

Abstract: Literature identifies three domains of satisfaction with health care science of medicine, art of care, and amenities of care, all areas that are potentially affected by delivery of health care through telemedicine, a media that separates the care provider from the patient. The purpose of this research is to develop instruments to measure patient and provider satisfaction with telemedicine. Patient and provider satisfaction instruments in general have been developed with little qualitative input from the consumer, and many have poorly established validity and reliability. For this project, focus groups are being used to evaluate patient and provider satisfaction with telemedicine. Survey instruments developed from focus group transcripts will be revised based on participant feedback, then pilot tested, evaluated for reliability and revised again as indicated. Reliability testing and factor analysis of instruments will be repeated with approximately 200 telemedicine patients and 100 telemedicine providers. Preliminary findings from patient focus groups are reflective of the domains of satisfaction with health care as identified in the literature. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defence, or the US Government.

Keywords: patient satisfaction; provider satisfaction; telemedicine.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHTM.1999.001057

International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, 1999 Vol.1 No.1/2, pp.239-251

Published online: 30 Jun 2003 *

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