Perception and attitude towards teleconsultations among dif-ferent health care professionals in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.xlsx

Teleconsultation has become one of the most important and sometimes the only possible forms of communication between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perception and attitude of HCPs to teleconsultations may affect the quality of the therapeutic process provided using them. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the attitudes and perceptions of medical teleconsultation among various HCPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from a dedicated questionnaire on preferences, attitudes, and opinions about teleconsultation, which was filled by 780 Polish HCPs. Most of the HCPs were doctors and nurses (69% and 19%, respectively); most doctors were family physicians (50.1%). During the pandemic, teleconsultation and face-to-face contact were reported as the preferred methods of providing medical services with similar frequency. Doctors and nurses displayed the most positive attitude towards teleconsultation while the paramedics and physiotherapists took the least positive view of it. The most frequently indicated ratio of the optimal number of teleconsultations to the patient's personal visits in primary health facilities care was 20%:80%. Most HCPs appreciate the value of teleconsultation, and more than half of them are willing to continue this form of communication with the patient when necessary or desirable.