Patient perspectives and experiences of remote consultations in people receiving kidney care: A scoping review

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in a rapid and sometimes chaotic change in how clinical care was delivered for people living with kidney disease, with increased reliance on digital technologies and the introduction of remote services.

Objectives

To conduct a scoping review of studies about patients' experiences and perspectives in receipt of remote consultations for kidney care.

Design

Using Arksey and O'Malley's framework, three databases were searched on EBSCO (CINAHL, MEDLINE and Psych INFO). The search included studies published in English from August 2010 to August 2021.

Results

Eight studies met the scoping review criteria (two cross-sectional, two mixed-method and four qualitative). Five themes were identified: overall satisfaction with remote services, benefits to patients (convenience, involvement in care and patient safety), barriers to remote consultations (technical difficulties, digital literacy and loss of interpersonal communication), patient concerns (need for physical examination, privacy and confidentiality) and prerequisites for successful remote care (existing patient–practitioner relationship, stable illness phase and access to technology).

Conclusion

Remote consultations confer multiple advantages to patients; therefore, remote consultations should be offered as an option to patients living with kidney disease beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are several barriers to remote consultation that need to be addressed and understood before implementing remote care long-term. Future research should examine the impact of remote consultations on people living with kidney disease from under-served groups to identify barriers and ensure their suitability and accessibility to the wider population for a more patient-centred approach to kidney care.