Purpose

Geographic disparities for assisted reproductive technology (ART) continue to exist. Travel cost and time off work may create additional barriers for patients living remotely. Implementing telehealth can alleviate these barriers by reducing office visits. The aim of this study was to evaluate patient satisfaction with telehealth during ART.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional survey and retrospective cohort study. Patients living remotely who underwent ART utilizing telehealth between 2015 and 2018 at a single institution were selected for the telehealth group. The non-telehealth control group included randomly selected patients who underwent IVF at the same institution between 2015 and 2018. Demographic variables and treatment outcomes were obtained for both groups. A patient satisfaction questionnaire was distributed to telehealth patients. Statistical analysis using χ² test was performed to compare ART outcomes between both groups.

Results

Ninety-seven control and 97 telehealth patients were included. For telehealth patients, the mean number of office visits and distance traveled was 2.9 (± 0.8 SD) and 143.1 miles (± 49.2 SD) respectively. 58.8% of patients completed the survey. 44/57 participants had an oocyte retrieval and 42/44 underwent embryo transfer. For those who completed the survey, the clinical pregnancy rate was 31/44 and the live birth rate was 25/44. There was no difference in treatment outcomes between telehealth compared to controls. 73% of patients were highly satisfied with telehealth.

Conclusions

Telehealth can improve access to ART in underserved areas and results in high patient satisfaction. Reproductive health providers could consider telehealth as a safe and efficacious tool to ameliorate geographic disparities.

中文翻译：

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获得辅助生殖技术的地区差异：评估采用现代技术缩小差距时的患者满意度

目的

辅助生殖技术 (ART) 的地理差异继续存在。差旅费用和休假时间可能会给远程居住的患者带来额外的障碍。实施远程医疗可以通过减少办公室访问来缓解这些障碍。本研究的目的是评估患者在 ART 期间对远程医疗的满意度。

方法

这是一项横断面调查和回顾性队列研究。远程医疗组选择了 2015 年至 2018 年在单个机构使用远程医疗接受 ART 的远程患者。非远程医疗对照组包括随机选择的 2015 年至 2018 年间在同一机构接受试管婴儿的患者。获得了两组的人口统计学变量和治疗结果。向远程医疗患者分发了一份患者满意度问卷。使用χ ²检验进行统计分析以比较两组之间的ART结果。

结果

包括 97 名对照患者和 97 名远程医疗患者。对于远程医疗患者，平均就诊次数和旅行距离分别为 2.9 (± 0.8 SD) 和 143.1 英里 (± 49.2 SD)。58.8%的患者完成了调查。44/57 的参与者进行了卵母细胞提取，42/44 的参与者进行了胚胎移植。完成调查者的临床妊娠率为31/44，活产率为25/44。与对照组相比，远程医疗的治疗结果没有差异。73% 的患者对远程医疗非常满意。

结论

远程医疗可以改善服务欠缺地区获得 ART 的机会，并提高患者满意度。生殖健康提供者可以将远程医疗视为一种安全有效的工具来改善地理差异。