Perceptions on Telemedicine in Portugal During Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

: This study aimed to investigate how patients and professionals faced telemedicine or telehealth in Centre Region in Portugal during the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic. Mixed-methods exploratory and parallel study including data from a survey of 190 healthcare patients and seven qualitative interviews with healthcare professionals from the Centre Region of Portugal were carried out. Descriptive and multiple correspondence analysis was used for survey results evaluation while healthcare professionals' perceptions were studied using a thematic analysis approach. Although few participants (15%) experienced telemedicine before the pandemic, most (73.2%) consider the health sector prepared to provide it. The most mentioned benefits of telemedicine were the avoidance of travel, convenience, and comfort for the patient. The limitations that may exist in this modality relate to patients who do not have the necessary technological devices, the lack of adequate diagnostic tools, and limitations to the patient-doctor relationship. Younger participants (<30y) were associated with characteristics of the telemedicine operating system, like the adequacy of diagnostic tools while persons more than 50 years old were associated with the lack of preparation or predisposition of professionals to provide telemedicine.