Background

The American Academy of Pediatrics 2015 policy statement on telehealth proposed that telehealth could increase access to high-quality pediatric care and that pediatricians should work to reduce barriers to telehealth for their patients. However, little is known about pediatricians’ experiences with and attitudes toward telehealth.

Methods

Data from a nationally representative survey of American Academy of Pediatrics postresidency US member pediatricians in 2016, restricted to respondents providing direct patient care (n = 744; response rate = 48.7%). Survey collected information on experience with telehealth in the previous 12 months, perceived barriers to telehealth incorporation, and conditions under which nonusers would consider using telehealth. In addition to descriptive statistics, we used multivariable logistic regression to examine characteristics associated with any telehealth experience in the past 12 months.

Results

Fifteen percent of pediatricians reported any telehealth use in the 12 months prior to the survey. The most commonly reported barriers to telehealth adoption were insufficient payment and billing issues. Multivariable regression models indicated that pediatricians in rural areas, the West, and subspecialists were most likely to report telehealth use, and identifying barriers was negatively associated with telehealth use. Among nonusers, over half indicated they would consider adopting telehealth if they were paid for the visits.

Conclusion

Telehealth is considered an important health care delivery mechanism, but only 15% of pediatricians in 2016 reported having used telehealth. Reducing barriers will be instrumental in promoting future telehealth adoption. Many barriers have been reduced during the response to COVID-19, and the impact of these policy changes will need further study.

中文翻译：

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儿科医生对远程医疗使用的态度和经验：国家调查的结果。

背景

美国儿科学会2015年关于远程医疗的政策声明提出，远程医疗可以增加获得高质量儿科护理的机会，儿科医生应该努力减少患者的远程医疗障碍。但是，对于儿科医生对远程医疗的经验和态度知之甚少。

方法

2016年美国儿科医师学会美国住院医师会员资格全国代表调查的数据仅限于提供直接患者护理的受访者（n = 744；回复率= 48.7％）。该调查收集了以下信息：过去12个月中的远程医疗经验，感知的远程医疗整合障碍以及非用户考虑使用远程医疗的条件。除了描述性统计数据外，我们还使用多变量logistic回归分析了过去12个月中与任何远程医疗经验相关的特征。

结果

15％的儿科医生在调查前的12个月内报告了任何远程医疗用途。据报道，采用远程医疗的最常见障碍是付款和计费问题不足。多变量回归模型表明，农村地区，西部地区的儿科医生和亚专科医生最有可能报告远程医疗的使用，而确定障碍与远程医疗的使用负相关。在非用户中，超过一半的人表示，如果为访问付费，他们将考虑采用远程医疗。

结论

远程医疗被认为是重要的医疗保健提供机制，但2016年只有15％的儿科医生报告曾使用过远程医疗。减少障碍将有助于促进未来远程医疗的采用。在应对COVID-19的过程中减少了许多障碍，这些政策变化的影响将需要进一步研究。