Abstract:

Objective To analyze the tuberculosis (TB) patients’ experience of the follow-up medical treatment online during the COVID-19 epidemic. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among 131 TB patients partcipated in the online consultation of Beijing Chest Hosipital, Capital Medical University and completed the whole process of internet diagnosis and treatment and drug delivery. The effective recovery rate was 96.9% (127/131). Likert 5-level scoring system was used to evaluate patients’ satisfaction before, during and after visit. Results The results showed that the satisfaction of patients was 93.7% (119/127). The satisfaction of patients who older than 45 years, around Beijing and other areas, and disease course over 6 months were significantly higher than those of younger than 30 years, Beijing local, and disease course less than 6 months (97.3% (36/37) vs. 90.0% (45/50), χ²=3.650, P=0.004; 95.9% (94/98) vs. 86.2% (25/29),χ²=3.243, P=0.008; 95.1% (98/103) vs. 87.5% (21/24), χ²=3.233, P=0.008; respectively). For patients around Beijing and other areas, “ Recommendation of attending doctors”was the main way to obtain information (54.7% (35/64)). However, obtaining information mainly “after going to the hospital”was the main way for Beijing patients (44.8% (13/29)), the rate was significantly higher than that in the patients from other areas (1.6% (1/64),χ²=36.015, P<0.01). “Unable to go out because of epidemic” (81.1% (103/127)) was the main reason for choosing internet diagnosis and treatment. The rate of “out-patient number not available” in Beijing was significantly higher than that in other areas (51.7% (15/29) vs. 18.8% (12/64),χ²=10.764, P=0.005); 48.8% (62/127) of patients “had no concerns” before receive treatment on the internet, however, the rate of “the inaccurate diagnosis online” in patients around Beijing was significantly higher than that in patients from other areas (50.0% (17/34) vs. 25.0% (16/64), χ²=6.647, P=0.036); 78.0% (99/127) of the patients considered that internet diagnosis and treatment reduced the infection risk caused by going out, they hope to solve the problems of “follow-up consultation” (55.9% (71/127)) and “prescription and drug delivery” (57.5% (73/127)) mainly through internet in the future. In the patients older than 45, the willingness of “reduce the risk of going out” was significantly lower than those younger than 30 years (62.2% (23/37) vs. 84.0% (42/50), χ²=7.588, P=0.023), while the willingness of “follow up consultation” was significantly higher than those younger than 30 years (73.0% (27/37) vs. 50.0% (25/50), χ²=6.226, P=0.044). However, only 26.0% (33/127) of the patients would “prefer online diagnosis and treatment”. Conclusion Patients’ satisfaction of internet diagnosis and treatment was high in this survey, but the willingness was greatly affected by the epidemic. The normalization of internet diagnosis and treatment needs to find new ways.

Key words: Tuberculosis, Questionnaire survey, Case management, Computer communication networks, Acceptability