Public Perception of Telemedicine and Surgical Telementoring in the Pediatric Population: Results of a Parental Survey.

INTRODUCTION: Telemedicine and surgical telementoring strive to provide equal access to specialized healthcare, regardless of patient location. It also aims to provide providers in remote locations real-time, second opinions from more experienced physicians who are otherwise not readily available. The goal of this study is to gauge the public perception of this technology in the pediatric population.

METHODS: Patient families in our pediatric surgery and gastroenterology clinics were asked to complete a seven-question survey after being shown a 1-minute video describing telemedicine and surgical telementoring.

RESULTS: A total of 129 people were surveyed. Among respondents, 89% were amenable to telemedicine for routine physician visit, 70% said "yes" for a postoperative visit, and 67% agreed to telemedicine and telementoring as a way to be evaluated by a specialist. Regarding surgical telementoring, 49% would consider it for their child, 58% would consider it for themselves, and 10% said "yes" for themselves, but "no" for their child. In addition, 24% and 19% were unsure about surgical telementoring for their child and themselves, respectively. Those with history of surgery without complications were more likely to say "yes" than "no" to telemedicine for a postoperative visit and surgical telementoring. Although a higher proportion of those with an annual income of >$100K said "no" to surgical telementoring for their child and themselves, this was not statistically significant (P = .23 and .25, respectively). Desire to see a physician in person was cited by 63% as a reason against telemedicine, although 35% reported concern about a physician's competence as a reason against surgical telementoring.

CONCLUSION: Overall, surgical telementoring was only supported by about half of the respondents. We predict that with increased education about surgical telementoring, this technology will have increased public support in the pediatric population.