Perception and Attitude of Pakistani Doctors Toward the Use of Telemedicine Technology

Nisha Zahid; Akhtar Ali; Babris Gul; Syed H Danish; Syeda N Israr; Junaid Anwar

doi:10.7759/cureus.31556

Perception and Attitude of Pakistani Doctors Toward the Use of Telemedicine Technology

Cureus. 2022 Nov 15;14(11):e31556. doi: 10.7759/cureus.31556. eCollection 2022 Nov.

Authors

Nisha Zahid¹, Akhtar Ali², Babris Gul³, Syed H Danish⁴, Syeda N Israr⁵, Junaid Anwar⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ITA.
² Department of Pharmacology, Ziauddin Medical College, Ziauddin University, Karachi, PAK.
³ Department of Healthcare Management, Ziauddin Medical College, Ziauddin University, Karachi, PAK.
⁴ Department of Community Health Sciences, Ziauddin Medical College, Ziauddin University, Karachi, PAK.
⁵ Department of Dental Material, Baqai Dental College, Baqai Medical University, Karachi, PAK.
⁶ Department of Pathology, Ziauddin Medical College, Ziauddin University, Karachi, PAK.

Abstract

Background: Healthcare providers may improve healthcare delivery and make it available to more people by combining advanced technologies with high-quality network services. In this regard, telemedicine has improved healthcare providers' ability to provide services for a large number of individuals without their physical presence. Pakistan's healthcare system is a mix of government infrastructure, parastatal healthcare, the private sector, civil society, and charitable contributions. However, unawareness, poor education, lack of skills, lack of resources, and technical issues including internet connectivity, and load shedding have limited the accessibility of the Pakistani population towards advancement in the healthcare industry.

Methodology: It was a cross-sectional study conducted at a private tertiary care hospital from April to June 2022 in Karachi. To recruit the study participants, a purposive sampling technique was used. Practicing doctors (n=100), who were aware of telemedicine technology and agreed to participate in the study, were included as study participants. A self-developed proforma was administered to doctors to assess the study's objectives.

Results: Out of 100, 64% (n=64) of the participants have no experience working in telemedicine while only 36% have worked with telemedicine for at least one year. When asked about the application of telemedicine technology only 46% of the doctors knew the technology used. While only 42% of the doctors were familiar with the telemedicine tools, including a virtual stethoscope, pulse oximeter, etc. views regarding continue using telemedicine, 26% of the participants having no experience with telemedicine agreed that they would like to use telemedicine, 35% agreed to use telemedicine with improvement whereas 3% of them do not want to use the telemedicine technology.

Conclusion: The participants of the current study were aware of telemedicine technology and its advantages. However, despite their agreement, the majority of the doctors emphasized the improvement of the system to deliver better services by using this technology.

Keywords: attitude; doctors; pakistani; perception; telemedicine.