Table 2.
Perception/attitude of participants towards telemedicine in pre-COVID-19
| Reason to influence for the telemedicine |
Strongly disagree N (%) |
Disagree N (%) |
Neutral N (%) |
Agree N (%) |
Strongly agree N (%) |
Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The attitude of the people who have used telemedicine pre-COVID-19 (N = 758) | ||||||
| Consumes less time in medical consultation and treatment | 92 (12.1) | 165 (21.8) | 211 (27.8) | 130 (17.2) | 160 (21.1) | 3.13 |
| Cost effective | 81 (10.7) | 199 (26.3) | 205 (27.0) | 137 (18.1) | 136 (17.9) | 3.06 |
| Convenience facility | 81 (10.7) | 171 (22.6) | 208 (27.4) | 148 (19.5) | 150 (19.8) | 3.15 |
| Scheduling appointments and talking to healthcare providers become easy | 80 (10.6) | 182 (24.0) | 197 (26.0) | 153 (20.2) | 146 (19.2) | 3.14 |
| Immediate response from specialist | 77 (10.2) | 174 (22.9) | 218 (28.8) | 147 (19.4) | 142 (18.7) | 3.14 |
| Follow-up and procedure become more convenient | 78 (10.3) | 183 (24.1) | 199 (26.3) | 151 (19.9) | 147 (19.4) | 3.11 |
| Opinion of more than one doctor is possible | 78 (10.3) | 190 (25.0) | 205 (27.0) | 137 (18.1) | 148 (19.5) | 3.01 |
| There is no insurance or reimbursement problem involved in usage of telemedicine facility | 106 (14.0) | 177 (23.3) | 201 (26.5) | 152 (20.1) | 122 (16.1) | 3.13 |
| Information provided by doctors is reliable | 67 (8.8) | 203 (26.8) | 194 (25.6) | 156 (20.6) | 138 (18.2) | 3.14 |
| Telemedicine helps in reducing unnecessary visits to hospitals | 94 (12.4) | 160 (21.1) | 201 (26.5) | 149 (19.7) | 154 (20.3) | 3.07 |
| Providing 24 × 7 access to specialist | 104 (13.7) | 174 (23.0) | 185 (24.4) | 153 (20.2) | 142 (18.7) | 3.06 |
| Telemedicine is more approachable and useful to rural people | 93 (12.3) | 187 (24.7) | 193 (25.5) | 152 (20.1) | 133 (17.5) | 2.95 |
| The attitude of the people who have never used telemedicine pre-COVID-19 (N = 412) | ||||||
| Scheduling appointments and talking to healthcare providers become easy | 76 (18.4) | 82 (19.9) | 115 (27.9) | 51 (12.4) | 88 (21.4) | 2.98 |
| Immediate response from specialist | 70 (17.0) | 88 (21.4) | 111 (26.9) | 54 (13.1) | 89 (21.6) | 3.01 |
| Follow-up and procedure become more convenient | 64 (15.5) | 96 (23.3) | 111 (26.9) | 58 (14.1) | 83 (20.1) | 3.00 |
| Opinion of more than one doctor is possible | 79 (19.2) | 87 (21.1) | 109 (26.5) | 52 (12.6) | 85 (20.6) | 2.94 |
| Information provided by doctors is reliable | 74 (18.0) | 98 (23.8) | 110 (26.7) | 54 (13.1) | 76 (18.4) | 2.90 |
| Telemedicine is more approachable and useful to rural people | 78 (18.9) | 77 (18.7) | 112 (27.2) | 57 (13.8) | 88 (21.4) | 3.00 |