An Evaluation of Patient Acceptance and Satisfaction of Diabetes Video Conferencing Consultations and Recall of Information
As Telemedicine becomes increasingly available, diabetic patients are afforded the opportunity to access consultations locally through video conferencing software (VC). In order to asses patient acceptance and satisfaction of VC consultations, a questionnaire was developed based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) and sought to establish the barriers, facilitators and individual factors influencing acceptance and satisfaction of VC diabetes consultations in the Highlands. Purposive sampling gathered participants with type 1 and 2 diabetes attending F2F and VC consultations based in Fort William, Thurso and Inverness. VC patients took part in a structured interview, and face to face (F2F) patients only answered questions relating to intention, innovativeness, self-efficacy and recall. Deductive, theoretical analysis based on the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991), identified 3 main themes and 7 sub themes which contributed towards satisfaction and acceptance of the VC: clinical support (Presence of the diabetes specialist nurse, equitable experience to F2F), communication (lack of empathy, lack of non-verbal communication, system characteristics) and experience (lack of experience and previous successful experiences). All patients intended to use the VC service again, implying patients were accepting and satisfied. Prior experience of VC positively impacted attitude towards VC and perceived ease in using the system. Facilitating factors included reduced travel time and distance, reduced perceived stress and greater availability of clinical support. Barriers included prior experience, lack of perceived empathy and non-verbal communication from the practitioner. The diabetes specialist nurse (DSN) was identified as a key component in positive patient experience providing informational, emotional and technological support. Recall of consultation information did not differ between VC and F2F. Overall VC systems may be a useful means of enabling access to diabetes healthcare whilst offering a satisfactory experience, equitable to F2F consultations.
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