Comparing video consultation and telephone consultation at the outpatient clinic of a tertiary referral centre: patient and provider benefits

Abstract

ObjectivesTelephone consultations are frequently used in the outpatient setting in order to avoid unnecessary travel and to reduce hospital visit-related costs for patients. However, they are limited by the absence of non-verbal communication in contrast to video consultation. Little is known considering the possible advantages of using video consultation in comparison to telephone consultation according to both patients and healthcare providers.MethodsPatients with colorectal diseases were asked to choose between a telephone consultation or a video consultation for their next appointment at the outpatient clinic of a tertiary referral centre. Willingness to use video consultation, value of non-verbal communication, patient satisfaction, provider satisfaction and user friendliness of the video connection technology were measured using questionnaires.ResultsNone of the included patients ever had a video consultation before with a healthcare provider. Nonetheless, 22/50 preferred a video consultation over a telephone consultation. Patients who preferred a video consultation underlined the benefits of providing visual feedback to both patients and healthcare providers. Moreover, healthcare providers felt they were better able to assess the patients’ healthcare condition.ConclusionFor patients who value both verbal and non-verbal interaction and feel comfortable with the use of video consultation, video consultation is the preferred contact modality. Shared decision making should be used to choose the preferred interaction modality. For patients with low digital skills, support might be needed or video consultation may not be the preferred choice.

Are Surgical Patients Satisfied With Remote Consultations? A Comparison of Remote Versus Conventional Outpatient Clinic Follow-Up for Surgical Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…The forest plot in Figure 3 demonstrates that patients from both cohorts would prefer RA in the future. This is in line with other studies ( 20 , 21 ). Of the 6 studies, only the study by Sathiyakumar et al failed to demonstrate a preference for RA.…”

A Quantitative and Qualitative Study on Patient and Physician Perceptions of Nephrology Telephone Consultation During COVID-19

“…The main barrier was the absence of non-verbal communication, illustrating the importance of visual cues (eg, eye contact, smiling, body language) in nurturing a good relationship with a nephrologist. 27 …”

Experiences of patients and health care professionals on the quality of telephone follow-up care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a large qualitative study in a multidisciplinary academic setting

“…In our interviews, many patients showed curiosity towards implementation of video consultations (VC) to possibly alleviate the lack of non-verbal communication. Barsom et al 7 found that, according to previous studies, almost half of the patients preferred VCs over TCs to communicate with their surgeon because of the benefits of providing visual feedback. A qualitative study on VCs in primary care by Donaghy et al ,4 additionally found that these visual cues increased patients’ confidence in the consultation.…”

“…Telemedicine has been suggested to improve the efficiency of outpatient follow-up and also appeared to be a suitable tool for follow-up outpatient care in various chronic and oncological conditions 2–4. In patient surveys, the possibility of fair communication,5 high patient satisfaction and confidence in its quality were reported 6 7. The absence of travel costs and benefits of time saving for patients have consistently been identified as predominantly important benefits compared with face-to-face consultations (FtFCs) 4 8 9…”