Table 3.
Safety of Telemedicine as Perceived by Clinicians
| • Whether it is possible to provide patients with proper information and take appropriate steps is the key to safety (N = 10). |
| • Information must be obtained in advance to make a certain diagnosis for a first-visit patient with telemedicine, but it is also important to be able to extract the information while seeing the patient (N = 4). |
| • Clinicians are aware of problems facing telemedicine in terms of complying with security and privacy standards (N = 10). |
| • Clinicians should educate patients on the safe use of telemedicine (N = 6). |
| • Telemedicine can minimize contact between patients and staff and provide safe medical care without causing nosocomial infections (N = 10). |
| • Since palpation and checkup are not possible and little information is provided, there are symptoms and condition images that are difficult to definitively diagnose, and they feel the limits of telemedicine from the viewpoint of safety (N = 6). |
| • First-time patients are at high risk if they are examined through telemedicine and are not accepted at some hospitals (N = 2). |
| • Telemedicine can be safely performed only for patients with limited chronic illness (N = 10). |
| • Patients with some chronic illnesses in a stable condition can be seen with telemedicine, but those with sudden symptoms, poor control, heading in the wrong direction, or serious illness may be overlooked if not tested, so they encourage patients to engage in immediate face-to-face treatment (N = 10). |
| • The use of telemedicine by elderly individuals alone is risky from the perspective of safety (N = 3). |
| • Immediate face-to-face treatment is needed for patients with symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and suicidal ideation (N = 1). |
| • They feel anxiety and hesitation regarding whether the appropriate medication has been prescribed (N = 2). |
| • They encourage face-to-face medical care for patients who use telemedicine as if it were a prescription pharmacy (N = 1). |
The number of clinicians/patients who actually contributed to the topic/theme.