People and a virtual doctor's visit: Learning about multiple acceptance aspects of a telemedical scenario

Abstract

In this paper we report on a study exploring multiple aspects of a virtual doctor's visit as a commonly used example for telemedical services. We compare the conventional doctor's visit with the virtual visit to identify user requirements and needs for the acceptance of such a scenario. In our survey we retrieved data from a total of 93 users between 16 and 67 years. The results of this study describe differences (and similarities) of criteria for choosing a doctor, basic requirements to accept a virtual doctor's visit, and people's opinions on common pro and contra arguments on this scenario. We analyzed the data for potential influences from various user characteristics, such as age, gender, social behavior, or technical competence. Interestingly, most of the reported concerns are not influenced by gender or age, while participants' technical self-confidence is related with various acceptance aspects.