The use of telehealth during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in oral and maxillofacial surgery: A qualitative analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Telehealth usage increased especially in the coronavirus pandemic. Objective: To determine whether oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMS) believe that telehealth is an adequate substitute for in-person consultations. Methods: OMS were interviewed. These were transcribed and themes and subthemes coded. Quotes were selected to create narratives about themes and subthemes and a frequency table generated. Results: 20 OMS were interviewed. There were 200 positive, 215 negative, 9 neutral and 256 unstated comments. Major themes were diagnosis, accessibility, patient-centred care, technology and finances. 34 sub-themes were identified. OMS were most satisfied with accessibility and most dissatisfied with diagnosis. Conclusion: OMS had mixed opinions regarding telehealth. While it can improve access, the technology, interventional capacity and diagnostic ability are limited. Face-to-face was preferred. Further studies are required to improve telehealth.

Rights

© 2021 Joshua Lee et al., licensed to EAI. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license, which permits unlimited use, distribution and reproduction in any medium so long as the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.2-12-2021.172361

Repository URI

https://hdl.handle.net/2164/21538