Keywords: Nurse-assisted telemedicine; Underserved region; Patient satisfaction; Health care professional satisfaction

Background:

In Hungarian socioeconomically disadvantaged regions, we meet a serious shortage of healthcare professionals. To address this challenge, the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta operates a nurse assisted telemedicine-based Mobile Healthcare Program (MHP), currently in 35 rural settlements nationwide. Nurses and social workers operate in local health centres, while medical doctors provide consultations remotely. Physical examination is aided by advanced digital technologies.
This study explores attitudes toward telemedicine in the Hungarian population.

Aim of the study:

(1) Are participating patients and healthcare professionals satisfied with this novel model?
(2) Is the developed system comfortable for users and is it professionally reliable?

Methodology:

Communication barriers, acceptance of digital diagnostic tools and overall patient satisfaction were assessed by two surveys.
The analysis of physicians’ opinions is based on semi-structured questionnaires completed after each teleconsultation.

Results:

In the first questionnaire (n1=203), 91% of the participating patients reported that all their concerns were adequately addressed during the consultation.
In another survey (n2=122), 62% of participating patients described videoconsultations with their doctor as ‘neutral’, 28.7% as ‘exciting novelty’, and only one participant found it ‘uncomfortable’. Overall, 96.1% of patients were fully satisfied, and 95.1% expressed willingness to return.
MHP physicians found that 77.33% of all teleconsultations (n3=5440) met the same professional standards as traditional in-person consultations, 15.79% exceeded these standards, and only 6.88% fell below expectations.
Medical doctors rated this setting overall reliable by giving it an average score of 4.72 on a 1-5 scale (n4=5927).

Conclusions:

Both patients and medical doctors expressed convincing levels of satisfaction with this novel telemedicine setting, indicating strong professional reliability of this service.
Healthcare professionals may also perceive that access to more diagnostic devices and real-time specialist consultations compensates for – or even surpasses – the lack of traditional direct physical examinations and personal doctor-patient relationships.