Readiness to use telemonitoring in diabetes care: a cross-sectional study among Austrian practitioners

Abstract

BackgroundTelemonitoring services could dramatically improve the care of diabetes patients by enhancing their quality of life while decreasing healthcare expenditures. However, the potential for implementing innovative treatment options in the Austrian public and private health system is not known yet. Thus, we analyzed the readiness to use telemonitoring in diabetes care among Austrian practitioners.MethodsWe conducted an online survey among a purposive sample of Austrian practitioners (n = 41) using an adapted German version of the practitioner telehealth readiness assessment tool. We assessed three readiness domains for telemonitoring in the context of diabetes care, i.e. core readiness, engagement readiness, and structural readiness, and validated the German tool using principal components analysis.ResultsStudy subjects perceived themselves as open to innovations and also expressed optimistic attitudes towards telemonitoring in general and offering telemonitoring-based services for their patients. Participants achieved a medium average readiness level for telemonitoring (58.2, 95% CI 53.9–62.5) and were thus in a good position to use telemonitoring, although some arguments may adversely affected its use. The top three perceived benefits of telemonitoring were enhanced quality of treatment, better therapy adjustment, and reduced travel and waiting times for patients. The top three barriers were reduced personal communication, practitioner time expenditure and equally placed poor financial compensation as well as data security and privacy issues.ConclusionOur data revealed that Austrian practitioners showed a quite moderate readiness to use telemonitoring in diabetes care. To further advance telemonitoring readiness among all pillars of diabetes care in Austria, joint efforts among healthcare stakeholders are required to overcome existing financial, organizational, and technical obstacles.

Mobile and Online Health Information: Exploring Digital Media Use among Austrian Parents

“…As we conducted an online exploratory study, we abstained from sample size calculation and did not use advanced recruiting strategies and incentives for participation, which could clearly increase response rates in follow-up studies [22]. Nevertheless, similar sample sizes are also reported in related studies [8,18,20,42]. As expected, the age of parents correlated with the age of the children.…”

Exploring perceptions on medical app use in clinical communication among Austrian physicians: Results of a validation study

“…Based on previously published research, we developed a German study questionnaire including three hypothetical scenarios. [16][17][18][19][20] We performed a pre-test among participants with (n = 23) and without medical background (n = 12) to ensure general comprehensibility, face validity, and content validity and integrated the feedback of these people into the final study questionnaire.…”

“…[8][9][10][11][12] Given the significant current and future investment into technology adoption and implementation in the healthcare sector, the extent to which medical apps support care and doctor-patient communication should be examined. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Studying physicians' attitudes toward medical apps and their use in clinical settings is essential to identify and address barriers to their use and to create targeted education programs. As little is known so far about the Austrian healthcare sector, we developed a German survey tool including scenario-based communication settings, which we validated using principal component analysis (PCA).…”

Literature Review: Pengukuran Kesiapan Tenaga Kesehatan dalam Menerima Telehealth atau Telemedicine antara Negara Maju dan Negara Berkembang

“…Menurut P Jennett et al, dimensi core readiness merupakan pengukuran kesiapan dalam menerima telehealth dan telemedicine sebagai sebuah kebutuhan dasar yang diungkapkan dengan kepuasan atau kekecewaan yang mendasar terhadap situasi dimana seseorang harus dihadapkan dengan perubahan mekanisme dan harus beradaptasi dengan perkembangan zaman (Jennett, et al, 2003). Dalam mengukur core readiness, petanyaan yang dapat digunakan adalah tentang kepuasan terhadap pemberian pelayanan yang dilakukan pada masa ini, pernah atau tidaknya mengalami situasi atau pengaruh buruk yang disebabkan karena tidak dapat menjangkau pelayanan kesehatan, dan kebutuhan untuk dapat melakukan pelayanan kesehatan jarak jauh kepada pasien atau masyarakat (Muigg, Kastner, Duftschmid, Modre-Osprian, & Haluza, 2019).…”

“…Menurut Beebejaun & Chittoo, engagement readiness adalah dimensi yang digunakan untuk mengukur pengetahuan tenaga kesehatan tentang mekanisme dan pelaksanaan teknologi kesehatan, mengukur seberapa besar manfaat atau kesulitan yang dapat dirasakan oleh tenaga keseahatan dengan menjalankan telehealth dan telemedicine serta keinginan dan kemauan tenaga kesehatan untuk mengikuti pelatihan berkelanjutan dalam rangka mengembangkan pengetahuan dan keterampilan tentang pelaksanaan teleheath dan telemedicine (Beebeejaun & Chittoo, 2017). Dalam mengukur kesiapan melalui engagement, pertanyaan yang dapat diajukan adalah tentang ada atau tidaknya rasa ingin tahu yang lebih terhadap perkembangan pelayanan kesehatan melalui telemonitoring, keinginan untuk mengembangkan diri bersama dengan tenaga kesehatan lainnya dalam melakukan telehealth dan telemedicine, keterbukaan satu sama lain antara tenaga kesehatan tentang manfaat telehealth dan telemedicine, dan keinginan untuk menginvenstasikan lebih banyak waktu dalam melakukan telehealth dan telemedicine (Muigg, et al, 2019).…”