The attitude of medical workers to telemedicine technologies.

Abstract

Introduction. Currently, telemedicine is one of the most rapidly developing areas in the healthcare system. The aim is to study the awareness and attitude of doctors to telemedicine technologies in the Russian Federation. Materials and methods. 138 doctors of different specialties (64 cardiologists, 24 neurologists and 50 therapists) took part in the survey using the original questionnaire «Awareness and attitude of doctors to telemedicine technologies». Results. Most physicians in therapeutic specialties are aware of telemedicine consultations. They are ready to devote 20% of their working time to telemedicine consultations. They want to learn new technologies. Cardiologists, unlike neurologists, therapists, think better that the work of a doctor will become more efficient through telemedicine. They are convinced that telemedicine consultations can reduce anxiety, self-medication and complications in patients. Doctors know little and rarely use remote telemonitoring. Most cardiologists and therapists are ready to focus on telemetry and have time to working for this method. Neurologists are more wary of the introduction of telemetry: about 50% see the benefits of this monitoring method. Most cardiologists believe that remote telemetry increases the availability of medical care, reduces economic costs and reduces the number of unmotivated visits to the doctor. Conclusion. Based on this study, it can be concluded that a broad information campaign is currently needed. It should be aimed at solving information, organizational, medical and ethical problems to increase the value of telemedicine technologies and trust in them.