Patients' perceptions of a telemedicine specialty clinic

We studied patients' perceptions of telemedicine (interactive video) as a m eans of delivering specialist oncology/haematology care. Semistructured tel ephone interviews were performed with 22 patients attending a tele-oncology /haematology clinic in Kansas. Interviews were audio-taped and thematic con tent analysis of the transcripts was done. The response rate was 96%. All p articipants expressed satisfaction with their teleconsultations. For 50% of respondents, satisfaction with the tele-oncology/haematology clinic was qu alified by two factors: participants also saw the specialist in person on o ccasions and the clinic was perceived as providing mainly a 'monitoring' fu nction. In addition, 9 of the 22 patients expressed concern about the role of the nurse as a proxy for the doctor in performing certain parts of the p hysical examination. Overall, participants valued improved access to specia list services but had clear views as to the limitations of such a service. As the use of telecommunications technology grows, patient perspectives mer it greater attention.