La percepción de los pacientes de reproducción asistida sobre la tecnología de testigo electrónico: resultados de una encuesta

Abstract

Introduction

The addition of electronic witnessing technologies as a quality control element in the human assisted reproduction treatments can increase their safety, by reducing the risk of mistakes. However, the impact of the inclusion of these elements in the patients’ perceived safety and quality is still unknown, as well as whether it translates into an improved experience when undergoing an in vitro fertilization treatment.

Material and methods

A survey was conducted on 200 patients, attending a private assisted reproduction unit located in Lisbon, Portugal, between January and July 2016. Participants were asked to give a numerical value to 6 sentences, depending on their level of agreement with them, in order to reflect their perception about the safety and quality of the assisted reproduction techniques, and the electronic witnessing technology.

Results

Despite the high confidence level on the quality and safety of assisted reproduction treatments procedures, they consider that undergoing an in vitro fertilization treatment produces anxiety. Consequently, patients value positively the addition of an electronic witnessing element, and consider it increases their overall confidence in in vitro fertilization procedures. This trend is increasingly marked in ‘novel’ patients, who have had no previous exposure to assisted reproduction treatments, when compared with experienced patients that have undergone one or more treatments.

Discussion

Patients show a strong interest in electronic witnessing technologies. It is, thus, important to produce evidence, in our geographical context, addressing their cost and effect upon the quality of assisted reproduction treatments procedures.