Ej. Callahan et al., Patient satisfaction with telemedicine consultation in primary care: Comparison of ratings of medical and mental health applications, TELEMED J, 4(4), 1998, pp. 363-369
Objective: To assess the viability of telemedicine as a vehicle for offerin
g mental health consultations to primary-care patients.
Methods: Satisfaction ratings from 34 mental health encounters were compare
d with ratings from a convenience sample of 59 non-mental health encounters
on four aspects of satisfaction: self-reported ability to speak freely; pr
obability of further use of telemedicine; perceived experience of telemedic
ine personnel; and relative preference for a telemedicine visit compared wi
th a face-to-face visit. The study was conducted in the context of the Tele
medicine Program at the University of California, Davis.
Results: No significant differences in satisfaction were found between ment
al health and non-mental health encounter groups for any of the four aspect
s of satisfaction.
Conclusions: Ratings from patients receiving mental health consultation usi
ng telemedicine yielded levels of satisfaction similar to those found in te
lemedicine consultations in non-mental health medical areas. The results su
pport telemedicine as a means to extend mental health consultation to rural
primary-care patients.