AUTHOR=Hooshmand Sara , Cho Junsang , Singh Shivangi , Govindarajan Raghav 

TITLE=Satisfaction of Telehealth in Patients With Established Neuromuscular Disorders

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2021.667813

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2021.667813

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction/aims:</bold> Determine established neuromuscular disease patients' satisfaction with telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> We received 50 completed Utah telehealth satisfaction surveys from a cohort of 90 from April 2020 to June 2020. Returning neuromuscular disease patients rated seven aspects from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree): Communication, timeliness of physician, picture quality, sound quality, protection of privacy, the comfort of the physical exam, the ease of healthcare, and whether patients would prefer “in-person” visits despite safety precaution. A favorable response was defined as a response of “Agree” or “Strongly Agree” to the survey questions. An independent <italic>t</italic>-test, Fisher's or chi-square test were used to compare demographic factors on outcomes for each survey question.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The average age was 47.54 ± 20.63, 54% were female, 70% from rural areas, 60% had family present “webside,” and 14% had family present remotely. The majority of patients reported “Agree” or “Strongly Agree” to each survey question assessing their telehealth satisfaction, except for whether patients preferred in-person appointments. Demographic factors, including location and clinical diagnosis, did not influence survey responses.</p><p><bold>Discussion:</bold> The vast majority of established neuromuscular disease patients responded favorably to their telehealth experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>