Telemedicine is seen to offer a number of benefits to both <strong> ECPs and patients.
For ECPs, telemedicine facilitates timely consultations for follow-up visits with no examinations (especially if these are frequent), second opinions and for emergencies as well as for screening or triaging patients.
ECPs recognise that telemedicine saves patients time getting to appointments and therefore offers them greater flexibility for when they can speak to their doctor. For ECPs, it helps to reduce their workloads, however, in China physicians said it allows them to spend more time with patients as consultations typically happen outside of office hours. Patients enjoy the time saved travelling and waiting at the hospital (especially in China). In Germany, patients expect to get an appointment faster via telemedicine than in-person.
ECPs believe that at-home or virtual testing will be used more. In the US, physicians said that cost-effective home eye-care equipment, either accompanied by the doctor or for self-assessment, is in development and will increase at-home testing. In the future, ECPs believe that testing will be allowed in hotspots or at certain centres, especially in Germany. Physicians in China and Germany mentioned that the use of self-assessment tests like the Amsler grid would be suitable for continuous monitoring of treatment efficacy. However, patients would prefer self-assessment tests to have HCP support or integrated technology to ensure standardisation and accuracy.
According to physicians, less time pressure means more relaxed consultations and the ability to provide more comfort and empathy, alleviating patient anxiety (especially in China). In Germany, physicians believe telemedicine allows them to offer emotional reassurance in emergencies. Interestingly, patients didn’t mention these benefits, so perhaps emotional support isn’t being felt by them at this point.