The Research on Patient Satisfaction with Remote Healthcare Prior to and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 17;18(10):5338. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18105338.

Abstract

The issue of research on patient satisfaction with healthcare services took on a completely new dimension due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the developing telehealth services. This results from the fact that during the pandemic, remote healthcare was often the only possible form of care provision to the patient. The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially accelerated the implementation of remote healthcare in healthcare institutions and made it an essential tool for providing healthcare services. The objective of the literature review was to study the research on patient satisfaction with remote healthcare services prior to and during the pandemic. The study featured a literature review of electronic databases, such as: Medline, ProQuest, PubMED, Ebsco, Google Scholar, WoS. The identified empirical papers were classified in two groups concerning the research on patient satisfaction prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and were divided and descriptively synthesised. Certain limitations to the methodical quality of the research were demonstrated as result of the conducted analyses. It was also ascertained that researchers lack clarity on the method of defining and measuring satisfaction prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; patient satisfaction; remote healthcare; telehealth services.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19*
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Telemedicine*