Telemedicine and Patient Satisfaction in Saudi Arabia

Alfaleh, A.; Alkattan, A.; Salah, M.; Almutairi, M.; Sagor, K.; Alageel, A.; Alabdulkareem, K.

Objectives Patients satisfaction with the healthcare system is a good indicator for measuring the quality of health services. This study aims to determine patients satisfaction with different types of telemedicine services (937 Call Center and Sehha Application) provided by the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-section study was conducted to evaluate consumers satisfaction toward telemedicine services in Saudi Arabia. A systematic random sampling method was used to collect consumers from each of the two telemedicine services including 937 medical call center and the Sehha application. Results Two hundred and forty-nine (249) randomly chosen consumers of 937 medical call center and the Sehha application have been answered the predesigned questionnaire about satisfaction towards different items of the two medical services. Among 249 consumers of telemedicine services, 83.14% of them were satisfied in general with medical services compared to 8.03% of consumers who were not satisfied. The satisfaction percentages toward physicians recommendations, communication skills, listening skills, and waiting time were 77.29%, 83.53%, 85.14%, and 67.87% respectively. Conclusion Telemedicine applications are commonly used nowadays in most developed countries and some developing countries in order to maximize the delivery of healthcare to patients with different medical conditions. The overall satisfaction rates toward different telemedicine services in Saudi Arabia were high, and there was no significant difference in concern to the satisfaction rates between 937 medical call center and Sehha application. In general, consumers of telemedicine services were satisfied, and most of them considered advising other people to use them.