Telemedicine in Hematology: Tool to Improve Access and Patient Satisfaction

Introduction: Telemedicine can transform the future of medicine, especially in rural settings by improving access to medical care. Here were present the patient satisfaction data from both telemedicine and regular visits in our Hematology & Oncology clinics. In Hematology, we have used tele medicine for sickle cell disease, benign hematology cases like iron deficiency, thrombocytopenia, leukocytosis etc., and in malignant hematology for new patient consults, toxicity checks, follow up of plasma cell disorders, chronic leukemias and low intensity chemotherapies.

Methods: We retrospectively collected patient satisfaction survey data from March 2020 to April 2021 for both telemedicine and regular visits. The patients were allowed to give a score from 1 to 99 regarding their experience at visit. We collected data on the following: likelihood of recommending, care provider, access and overall assessment.

Results: A total of 53 patient satisfaction survey were available for telemedicine and 462 for regular visits. Over 60 % of tele visits were non cancer related and 40% were cancer related. The average score for likelihood of recommending, care provider, access, and overall assessment for tele visit were 73.5, 41.5, 73.5 and 62 respectively. The average score for likelihood of recommending, care provider, access, and overall assessment for regular visit were 13.75, 7.5, 26.5, and 11 respectively.

Conclusion: The patient satisfaction scores for likelihood of recommending, care provider, access and overall assessment were significantly better for tele visits compared to regular visits.