Emergency upscaling of video consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Contrasting user experience with data insights from the electronic health record in a large academic hospital

Background: Video consultation (VC) has been scaled up at our academic centre attempting to facilitate and accommodate patient-provider interaction in times of social distancing during the recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: This study evaluates qualitative outcomes with data insights from the electronic health record, to contrast satisfaction outcomes with the actual use of VC. Methods: Healthcare providers and patients using VC during the COVID-19 pandemic at a large academic centre in the Netherlands were surveyed for user satisfaction and experiences with VC. In addition, quantitative technical assessment was performed using data related to VC from the EHR record. Results: In total, 1,027/4,443 patients and 87/166 healthcare providers completed their online questionnaire. Users rated the use of VC during a pandemic with an average score of 8.3/10 and 7.6/10 respectively. Both groups believed the use of VC was a good solution to continue the provision of healthcare during this pandemic. The use of VC increased from 92 in March 2020 to 837 in April 2020. Conclusion: This study strongly signals that VC is an important modality in futureproofing outpatient care during and beyond pandemic times. Further development in end-user technology is needed for EHR integrated VC solutions. Guidelines needs to be developed advising both patients and healthcare providers. Such guidelines should not solely focus on technical implementation and troubleshooting, but must also consider important aspects such as digital health literacy, patient and provider authentication, privacy and ethics.

Automated summary

The study shows high user satisfaction with VC during the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating it as a good solution for continuing healthcare provision. The use of VC has been increasing and is seen as an important modality for outpatient care in the future, requiring further development in user technology and EHR integrated VC solutions. Guidelines are needed to advise both patients and healthcare providers, focusing on digital health literacy, authentication, privacy, and ethics.