Chronic Pain Patient Satisfaction with Telemedicine Compared to In-person Visits during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many outpatient clinics temporarily closed. Telemedicine appointments, which refer to the remote delivery of healthcare services through audio or visual means, were offered as an alternative to in-person visits in an effort to continue delivering quality patient care while practicing social distancing recommendations in a safe manner. We hypothesize that patient satisfaction with telemedicine visits is similar when compared to in-person office visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A retrospective, single institution analysis was conducted to assess patient satisfaction with telemedicine and in-person visits with a chronic pain provider during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 170 patient visits were included in the study, including 42 telemedicine and 128 in-person patient visits. Results: Both telemedicine and in-person patients rated the provider similarly on a scale of 0-10, with means of 9.0 and 9.2 respectively [p = 0.56]. A majority of patients in each group, 83.3% for telemedicine and 87.5% for in-person, expressed a high degree of confidence that the care provider knew their medical history [p = 0.6]. Similarly, 83.3 % of telemedicine and 93.0% of in-person expressed a high degree of confidence that the provider listened to them [p = 0.07]. Lastly, 83.3% of telemedicine and 93.0% in-person patients would “definitely recommend” the provider’s office to family and friends [p = 0.07] (Table 1). Discussion: The post appointment surveys were not statistically different between the two studied populations. This supports the notion that telemedicine appointments are potentially non-inferior to in-person appointments in regard to patient satisfaction and provider rating.