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As much as 79,8 percent. Poles took advantage of telemedicine services last year – according to a survey conducted by the BioStat® Research and Development Center in cooperation with the Medonet portal. The broadly understood telemedicine was used more often by women (83,7%) than by men (75,5%). People with higher education (84,9%) are more likely to use this form of contact with a doctor than other social groups. It also turns out that the age of patients is not a barrier, as people over 60 years of age used telemedicine services with a similar frequency as younger ones.
- 44,3 percent of the respondents benefited from remote medical advice because they were unable to make a stationary visit
- Every third respondent decided to make an e-visit because they needed a prescription to be issued or extended
- Every third patient chose an e-visit due to the short waiting time
- Due to the pandemic, more than half of Poles experience difficulties in direct contact with a doctor
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
The popularity of telemedicine in Poland
– I am glad that as much as 80 percent. of the respondents had the opportunity to take advantage of telemedicine and that none of the age groups lags behind in the results – comments Diana Żochowska, head of the Medonet portal.
– Teleconsultations are a very convenient and quickly available form of contact with a doctor – believes doctor Dawid Luwański, a gynecologist from Konin. – Patients very much appreciate this form of contact in situations of sudden, urgent need to contact a doctor for advice, interpretation of laboratory test results or obtaining an e-prescription for chronic drugs. Nowadays, people travel a lot, it is often the case that they forget to take their medication with them on vacation or other trips. Another good aspect of telemedicine is easy and quick access to a doctor, which is what patients expect nowadays.
– The lack of an age barrier in the use of telemedicine services is a positive result – says the psychologist Barbara Wesołowska-Budka. – Patients over the age of 60 used e-visits more often than younger people. This is a bit surprising, but also shows us that seniors are not afraid of technology – and even if they have concerns, they can probably count on the support of their relatives. We should also remember that the senior group is the most exposed to COVID-19 and this is the other side of the coin. Probably this result was also influenced by fear and the awareness that it is best to stay home for safety.
- When is it worth deciding on telemedicine advice? [WE EXPLAIN]
Difficulties in accessing stationary visits
Difficulties in direct contacts with a doctor due to the risk of coronavirus were experienced by more than half of Poles in 2021 – a total of 54,7 per cent confirmed this. survey participants. Difficulties are experienced by no less than a quarter of the respondents (the sum of negative responses: 23,2%).
– Most GP surgeries still provide their services to a limited extent within inpatient visits, which translates into difficult access to a primary care physician – notes Dawid Luwański, gynecologist. – Here, too, online consultations meet the needs of sick patients, carrying out visits at times convenient for them. Availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is comfortable for the patient.
When do we use telemedicine?
Poles who decided to take advantage of remote medical advice last year most often admitted that they chose this form of counseling because they did not have the possibility to make a stationary visit (44,3%). However, every third respondent decided to make an e-visit because the type of advice did not require direct contact with a doctor (31,3%), the e-visit concerned issuing or extending a prescription (30,3%), or due to a short waiting time (30%). The price indicated by 2,9 percent was the most rarely mentioned reason for using the e-visit. study participants.
Women more often than men used the possibility of issuing or extending a prescription during the e-visit. In 2021, the prescription was remotely extended by every third woman (34,3%) and every fourth man (25,3%).
– Women very often use online consultations, mainly due to the use of contraceptive drugs – says Dawid Luwański, a doctor providing advice on the telemedicine platform halodoctor.pl. – During a pandemic, it is very difficult for women to see a gynecologist in order to repeat medications, therefore teleconsultations play a very important role here and are very helpful for these patients.
One fifth of the respondents did not use remote medical advice last year. Most often they considered that they had no need to use an e-visit at all – 60,9% said so. not using remote advice. In turn, only 23,9% expressed little confidence in telemedicine. among e-visit avoiders.
- Is the pandemic limiting patients’ access to a doctor?
What telemedicine services do Poles use?
Almost two-thirds of Poles who used telemedicine in 2021 received remote advice from an internist (65,8%). Every ninth respondent had an e-visit with a pediatrician. The smallest number of respondents had an e-visit with an allergist (4,7%).
– Over the last year, I have noticed an increase in interest in psychological telepaths – says Dominika Mastalerz, a psychologist, whose advice can also be used via the halodoctor.pl telemedicine platform. – People more and more often “dare” to meet a psychologist via the Internet – this is a new formula for all of us, forced by the current situation. At first, I wasn’t sure if online therapy could be fully effective, but now I can safely say that it is! This is evidenced by the assessment of my patients, which is available on our website – emphasizes the psychologist Dominika Mastalerz.
More than three-fourths of respondents who used remote medical advice last year received an e-prescription after the e-visit (77,8%), and more than a third – a referral to a specialist or for further tests (34,1% ). In 2021, slightly more women (80,6%) than men (74,4%) received an e-prescription.
Only 7,3 percent of them received no document after the e-visit. respondents.
– This shows that the solutions available on the market do not exclude any groups, and this is extremely important. I hope that most of these people had the opportunity to experience a telemedicine visit using all its possibilities, and not only telepaths understood as a telephone conversation between a doctor and a patient – adds Diana Żochowska, head of Medonet.
- E-prescriptions – advantages and the way to fulfill electronic prescriptions
How do Poles rate the quality of telemedicine services?
The surveyed Poles, when asked how they assessed the quality of remote medical advice available in Poland in 2021, most often assessed it neutrally (37,9%). In the case of the remaining group of respondents, they expressed positive opinions more often (the sum of positive responses: 34,6%).
Over two fifths of respondents believe that remote telemedicine advice helps in the fight against COVID-19 (the sum of positive responses: 41,8%). Almost three out of 10 respondents are of the opposite opinion (the sum of negative responses: 29,7%).
– Telemedicine strongly supports stationary services, especially in those categories that do not require direct contact with a doctor – explains Rafał Piszczek, president of the board of the Biostat® Research and Development Center, which monitors patients’ opinions throughout the pandemic.
– During the pandemic, many public institutions introduced restrictions, according to which the possibility of consulting a doctor face to face was almost a miracle – comments Barbara Wesołowska-Budka, psychologist, psychotherapist, sexologist from the EDUCATIO Mental Health Clinic. – In a situation where modern technology allows us to connect with a selected specialist in modern ways and these methods are popularized, the patient will choose not only this safe, but also convenient option.
More than one third of the surveyed Poles believe that remote medical advice can be assessed similarly to advice obtained directly at an outpatient clinic or doctor’s office. Remote counseling was assessed as worse than direct contact by a total of 37,6%. respondents.
How do we use telemedicine?
More than half of the respondents in 2021 used telemedicine services in the form of telephone registration (52,6%) and online prescription (51,4%). Last year, less than half of the respondents used remote medical advice (47,6%). Every twentieth study participant took part in a remote medical examination, e.g. in the form of sending photos or videos to a doctor, and every twenty-fifth participated in a health monitoring.
Every fifth respondent did not use any type of telemedicine services.
Online registration in 2021 was used more often than average by residents of large cities – over 400. inhabitants (39,7%) and from 100 to 200 thousand. inhabitants (34,3%).
In 2021, women more often than men used telemedicine services consisting in registration by phone (57,8% of women and 48,8% of men), remote medical advice (54,1% of women and 40,3% of men). ), as well as e-referrals (36,7% women and 27% men).
People with higher education more often than in other groups use telemedicine services in the field of online prescriptions (56,1%), remote medical advice (53,8%), e-referrals (39,7%), online registration ( 37,4%), sharing results online (22,4%) and e-leave (21,6%).
In 2021, telemedicine services were not used primarily by people with primary and vocational education (28,5%), while among people with secondary education, 21,7% did not use, and 15,1% did not use higher education.
The survey “Health of Poles – telemedicine in 2021” was carried out from January 10 to 17, 2022 by the BioStat® Research and Development Center using the CAWI method on a group of 2 thousand people. Poles of legal age, representative in terms of sex, age and voivodship. The survey was conducted in the media cooperation with medTvoiLokony.
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