Jelle Spierings (Nieuwegein / NL), Gijs Willinge (Amsterdam / NL), Bas Twigt (Amsterdam / NL), Marike Kokke (Nieuwegein / NL), Ruben van Veen (Amsterdam / NL), Detlef van der Velde (Nieuwegein / NL)
Abstract text (incl. references and figure legends)
Introduction
The COVID-pandemic disrupted established routines and services, and accelerated the digital transformation in healthcare. Little is known about the need for durable adoption of eHealth in trauma surgery. This study aimed to collect physicians' attitudes towards use, needs, adoption, and implementation of eHealth in (orthopedic) surgeons after the third COVID-wave.
Method
A web-based survey among (orthopedic) surgeons on the attitudes toward eHealth was conducted between November 2021 and March 2022. The primary outcomes of this study were "change of opinion of the usefulness of eHealth after the COVID-19 pandemic" on a 5-point Likert scale (1 meaning absolutely not, and 5 meaning absolutely) and "likelihood of using a safe digital alternative to face-to-face outpatient follow-up"(scale 0-100). Secondary outcomes included "current use", "applicability of eHealth in daily practice", and "implementation barriers of eHealth".
Results
Ninety-six physicians completed the survey. All participants owned a smartphone, a mean age of 39 (SD 18), and 59 (53%) were male. 83% (80/96) use eHealth in daily practice. The mean change of opinion towards the usefulness of eHealth was 3.7 (SD 0.85). Physicians would treat 58% (SD 21) of all patients with eHealth if proven safe. Dominant barriers were lack of short-term (3.49, 0.79) and long-term (3.43, 0.81) financial support, and complex laws and regulations (3.46, 0.72). Desired specifications were free of charge (4.39, 0.72), telemonitoring (4.32, 0,.56), living rules (4.25), and low complex usability (4.24, 0.68).
Conclusion
This study shows that physicians in (orthopedic) surgery use eHealth in daily practice and have a positively changed opinion on the usefulness of eHealth after the COVID-pandemic. If proven a safe mode of care, physicians would treat more than half of their patients digitally. The lack of funding during implementation and financial compensation for digital care are the most dominant barriers.
Disclosure: Do you have a significant financial interest, consultancy or other relationship with products, manufacturer(s) of products or providers of services related to this abstract? (If not, please enter "No" in the text field.)
For this study we have received a grand from ZonMw.