Assessment of Patient and Provider Satisfaction With the Change to Telehealth From In-Person Visits at an Academic Safety Net Institution During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) caused a global pandemic that forced medical providers to rapidly alter methods of health care delivery. One month into this pandemic, we surveyed providers and patients to assess satisfaction or concerns with the change from in-person visits.

Methods: We surveyed internal medicine (IM) and family medicine (FM) faculty and residents to ascertain satisfaction or concerns with the change to telehealth from in-person visits.

Results: Of patients surveyed (129 IM, 94 FM), 84.4% of IM patients and 94% of FM patients agreed or strongly agreed that they enjoyed the televisits, and 82.9% of IM providers (47 surveyed) and 64% of FM providers (25 surveyed) felt the same. For continued televisits, 76.74% of IM patients and 84.1% of FM patients agreed or strongly agreed that they would not mind having virtual visits after the pandemic, compared with 89.44% of IM providers and 88% of FM providers, and 91% of IM providers and 88% of FM providers felt comfortable managing visits virtually.

Conclusion: Patients are open to the expanded use of telemedicine, and providers and hospital systems should be prepared to embrace it for the benefit of patient care.