Experiences of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Teleconsultation with Medical Residents: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Objective: To explore the experiences of specialists, residents, and experienced personnel of obstetrics and gynecology regarding telephone consultation by specialized residents and on-call experts Design: Qualitative study based on inductive content analysis.Setting: Three departments of obstetrics and gynecology, affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.Population: A purposive sample of 16 specialists, residents and experienced staff.Methods: Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted.Results: Analysis of interview data resulted in 363 primary codes and six main themes including: "attempt to direct the process of telephone consultation", "decision-making challenges of diagnostic-therapeutic plans for patients", "attempt to verify the acquired findings", "inefficacy in the face of life-threatening conditions", "discriminations in legal confrontation with medical errors", and "impact on emotions and personal life". Conclusions:Process of teleconsultation between physician and resident is associated with numerous challenges. Formal training sessions and considering new approaches of teleconsultation and telemedicine are needed to be implemented in order to reinforce the reliability of patient information transfer.

A Data Model for Teleconsultation in Managing High-Risk Pregnancies: Design and Preliminary Evaluation

“…The qualitative study has shown that specialists during teleconsultation with residents faced significant challenges at the time of the diagnosis and treatment of patients; the majority of these problems were caused by insufficient confidence in the judgment of the resident or disproportionate volume of information received concerning the patients [ 4 ].…”

“…In our educational hospitals and in the absence of clinical experts (eg, holidays), the senior and junior residents are responsible for patient care through telephone consulting with an on-call physician. Our previous study had shown that there is no formal education about the consultation process for requesting a resident, and it is learnt only by oral education or observing the performance of senior ones [ 4 ]. So, data and information content that is exchanged in these consultations has no standard format or template.…”