Patient and provider experiences with virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods study
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the rapid uptake of Virtual Care (VC). Positive patient outcomes with VC are previously reported but little is known about the experiences of patients and providers using VC during the pandemic. We aimed to describe patient and primary care provider experiences, satisfaction, perceptions, and attitudes to VC during the COVID-19 pandemic that might explain adoption of VC across the continuum of care and inform sustained uptake. We conducted a sequential explanatory mixed methods study using online surveys and virtual interviews with a convenience sample of primary care providers and patients in a Canadian province (July – December 2020). Eligible participants included patients and primary care providers using VC during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey responses and interviews were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, respectively. Overall satisfaction was compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Eighty-five patients and 94 primary care providers responded to the surveys. Patients reported higher overall satisfaction with VC than primary care providers (median [interquartile range]: 4.4 [4.0-4.7] and 3.7 [3.4-3.9] p < 0.001). Ten patients and 11 primary care providers were interviewed. Both groups strongly appreciated VC’s increased access and convenience, identified the lack of compensation as a pre-pandemic barrier to providing VC, and reported willingness to continue VC post-COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for patients and primary care providers to rapidly adopt VC with high satisfaction. Patients and primary care providers viewed VC positively due to its convenience and accessibility; both intend to continue using VC post-pandemic.
Related content
-
Culture & Leadership | Staff & Provider Engagement
A Toolbox for Work-Life Balance
Do you ever feel like you live at work? Do you have a difficult time getting in enough “ME Time” to balance work and life? In this webinar, we will consider some of our roadblocks that get in our way and identify techniques to support living a more balanced, fulfilled life. Utilizing the Fish! Philosophy
Learn more -
Culture & Leadership | Infrastructure & Governance | Staff & Provider Engagement
How Daily Huddles Launch Conversation to Drive Metric Improvement
Since 2015 Cone Health Medical Group has been intentional about creating a culture of service excellence. Watch this webinar to discover how we partnered with Ritz Carlton Leadership Center to implement some of their key components ensure we have communication traveling from our sites up to our leaders and from our leaders down to our
Learn more -
Staff & Provider Engagement
Investigating the Perceived Impact of Surgeons’ Burnout on Surgical Physician Associates’ Wellness in United States Ambulatory Surgery Centers
Surgeons are the de facto leaders of surgical teams with surgical physician associates (SPAs) as integral members who function in all areas of the peri-operative environment. Surgeons often supervise SPAs.
Learn more