Communication Challenges Experienced by Clinicians and Patients During Teleconsultation. Scoping Review.

Background As teleconsultations continue to rise in popularity due to their convenience and accessibility, it's crucial to identify and address the challenges they present in order to improve the patient experience, enhance outcomes, and ensure the quality of care. To identify communication challenges that clinicians and patients experience during teleconsultation, a scoping review was conducted. Methods Studies were obtained from four databases (Ovid [MEDLINE], Ovid [Embase], CINAHL and Scopus). Gray literatures were not included. Studies focused on communication challenges between clinicians and their patients during teleconsultation in the context of COVID-19 and published from January 2000 to December 2022 were collected. Screening process was conducted by 2 independent reviewers. Data extraction was performed using a standardized form to capture study characteristics and communication challenges. Extracted data were analyzed to identify the communication challenges during teleconsultation, adherent to PRISMA-ScR. Results A total of 893 studies were collected from 4 databases and 26 studies were selected based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. Of these 26 eligible studies, 12 (46%) were from the US, 3 studies (12%) were from Australia, 2 (8%) were from the UK and Canada. These studies included 12 (46%) qualitative studies, 6 (23%) quantitative studies, 6 (23%) review articles, and 2 (8%) case reports. Eight factors contributing to communication challenges between clinicians and patients during teleconsultations were identified: technical issues, difficulties in developing rapport, lack of non-verbal communication, lack of physical examination, language barrier, spatial issues, clinician preparation, and difficulties in assessing patients' health literacy. Conclusion Eight factors were identified contributing to communication challenges during teleconsultation in the context of COVID-19. These findings highlight the need for addressing communication challenges to ensure effective teleconsultations. With the rise of teleconsultation in routine healthcare delivery, further research is warranted to confirm these findings, and to explore ways to overcome communication challenges during teleconsultation.