Patients’ Experience of the Newly Implemented Virtual Clinic during the COVID-19 Pandemic in PHCs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic mandated changes in the healthcare system to ensure uninterrupted patients care. We aimed to evaluate patients’ satisfaction with the virtual clinic service during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify factors affecting satisfaction. Methods: The study included 507 patients who had at least one virtual clinic visit in a single primary healthcare center from May 2020 to 2021. The data collected in this cross-sectional study included the demographics and questions related to patients’ experiences and satisfaction. The study outcome was the overall satisfaction with the virtual clinic service. Results: The study included 245 (48.32%) males, and the age ranged from 18 to 29 years in 34.32% of participants. Referral to the virtual clinic was according to the patients’ request in most cases (n=314, 61.93%). The patients knew about the virtual clinic through a phone call from the hospital (n=247) and previous experience with the virtual clinic (n=171). Eighty-six percent of the patients agreed/ strongly agreed that they were completely satisfied with the virtual clinic services. Satisfaction was significantly lower in patients above 70 years (OR: 0.03 (95% CI: 0.002- 0.40); p=0.01) and those not referred to the virtual clinic upon their request (OR: 0.16 (0.08- 0.31); p˂0.001). No other factors affected patients’ satisfaction. Conclusions: The patients were generally satisfied with the virtual clinic service and logistics. Factors affecting satisfaction should be considered when planning future virtual clinic services.