Patient experience
The opportunity to try telehealth during New Zealand’s lockdown periods has been a positive one for most patients, according to surveys done by DHBs. In May this year, Waitematā surveyed patients who had received a telephone or video appointment during lockdown and 95 per cent of respondents said telehealth appointments are a good service to provide and that they should be offered where clinically appropriate. Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Christiansen says patient feedback has been positive, particularly from people who were able to have a family member or support person join a telehealth consultation, who would not have been able to attend with them in-person. Patients also reported feeling comfortable in their own homes and appreciated not having to take a lot of time out of their day to attend a short hospital appointment. “Offering the choice to patients has been very consistently supported. It’s about what’s the best option for the patient and the clinician at any given time,” he says. At Southern DHB, patient surveys have also revealed that the vast majority of patients were satisfied or very satisfied with their telehealth appointments during lockdown and 80 per cent of patients surveyed on their telehealth experience by Nelson Marlborough DHB said they would use telehealth again. Patients in that region reported that time and money saved
on travel was the best part of the digital consultation.
An assessment of telehealth delivered by Northern DHB’s Mental Health and Addiction Service (MHAS) found the experience of participants during Covid-19 was “significantly positive”. “Most participants indicated they would like to continue to receive some form of telehealth, the majority of those preferring to have the option to have both telehealth and in-person face to face contact,” it says. “There was no clear difference between Maori and non-Maori preference for telehealth.” While not travelling long distances to hospitals is a key benefit of telehealth, having a health professional in the room with the patient is often needed and beneficial for their care. A number of DHBs, including Northern, MidCentral, Nelson Marlborough and Southern, use regional clinics or hospitals as hubs for telehealth clinics, where patients can have a consultant appointment closer to home.
“Most participants indicated they would like to continue to receive some form of telehealth.”
hinz .org.nz
TELEHEALTH OCTOBER 2020 : : 9
Powered by FlippingBook