Remote Communications between Patients and General Practitioners: Do Patients Choose the Most Effective Communication Routes?

Ido Morag (), Efrat Kedmi-Shahar and Dana Arad
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Ido Morag: School of Industrial Engineering and Management, Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Ramat-Gan 5252626, Israel
Efrat Kedmi-Shahar: Ministry of Health—State of Patient Safety Division, Ministry of Health—State of Israel, 39 Yirmiyahu St., P.O. Box 1176, Jerusalem 9446724, Israel
Dana Arad: Clalit Health Services, Innovation Division, 40 Toval St., Ramat Gan 5252247, Israel

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: The use of remote communication between patients and general practitioners has greatly increased worldwide, especially following the COVID-19 outbreak. Yet, it is important to evaluate the impact of this shift on healthcare quality. This study aimed at evaluating remote healthcare quality by comparing four remote patient-to-physician communication modes used in Israel. The research methodology entailed criteria-based analysis conducted by healthcare quality experts and a subjective patient-perception questionnaire regarding the healthcare quality attributed to each mode and the extent to which each mode was used. Our findings indicate that the extent to which each mode is used was found to be inversely related to its rated quality. As such, the common assumption whereby patients tend to choose the mode of communication that will most likely ensure high service quality is refuted. Our findings also indicate that remote services often hinder the physician’s understanding of the patient’s clinical issues, as patients encounter difficulties in correctly articulating and conveying them; such services also hinder the patient’s understanding of the recommended course of treatment. These findings should be addressed by policymakers for improving remote communication services to ensure optimal healthcare service quality.

Keywords: remote communication; treatment quality evaluation criteria; criterion-based analysis; patient–general practitioner remote and conventional consultation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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