Patient satisfaction, experience and preferences in the implementation of genetics teleconsultations in the North-eastern region of France

In France, few centres per region offer genetics consultations. Consequently, each centre covers a large area, often requiring patients to take a day off to travel long distances. In certain situations, genetic counselling in particular, a physical exam is not required. In these cases, teleconsultat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	European journal of medical genetics Vol. 66; no. 10; p. 104841
Main Authors:	Lançon, Allan, Beaudouin, Amandine, Lambert, Laetitia, Baurand, Amandine, Petit, Estelle, Schaefer, Elise, Poirsier, Céline, Piard, Juliette, Patay, Léa, Garde, Aurore, Bournez, Marie, Bertolone, Geoffrey, Kastner, Claire, Tempé, Laurine, El Chehadeh, Salima, Spodenkiewick, Marta, Lissy, Lola, Doco-Fenzy, Martine, Cabrol, Christelle, Trouvé, Chloé, Brischoux, Elise Boucher, Cloteau, Mélanie, Burtin, Alexia, Renaud, Mathilde, Riviere, Axelle, Quentin, Thomas, De Souza, Clément Simao, Sawka, Caroline, Racine, Caroline, Robert, Marion, Gautier, Elodie, Delanne, Julian, Bertaut, Aurélie, Thauvin-Robinet, Christel, Faivre, Laurence, Nambot, Sophie
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier Masson SAS 01-10-2023
Subjects:	Experience Genetics Patients Preferences Satisfaction Teleconsultation Teleconsultation Genetics Experience Preferences Patients Satisfaction
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	In France, few centres per region offer genetics consultations. Consequently, each centre covers a large area, often requiring patients to take a day off to travel long distances. In certain situations, genetic counselling in particular, a physical exam is not required. In these cases, teleconsultations between medical professional and patients, at the patient's location of choice, are an interesting offer. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the implementation and the use of this type of consultation. With the aim of developing teleconsultation for certain types of referrals, a study of patient satisfaction, experience and preferences has been set up in our region. 2307 patients who had a teleconsultation by phone or videoconferencing with professionals from one of five genetic centres in North-eastern France between March and December 2020 were asked by e-mail or by post to answer an online survey. 20% of the patients (n = 465) responded to the survey (80% women, 55% over 40 years old). In 64% of the cases (n = 299), the teleconsultation replaced a physical consultation due to the pandemic. In 56% of cases (n = 217), the consultations were conducted by videoconference. The teleconsultation involved the disclosure of results in 56% of cases (n = 260), a first consultation in 30% of cases (n = 138), and a follow-up consultation in 14% of cases (n = 67). The satisfaction rate was 96% (n = 447), with a rating of “excellent” in 72% of responses (n = 290) and “good” in 24% of responses (n = 157). Only 22% of the patients (n = 103), particularly patients who lived near the hospital or who were older than 70 years, would have preferred a physical consultation. Half of respondents (n = 232) declared that they avoided more than 1.5 h of transport, and 69% (n = 321) avoided taking a work day off. Patients were less often accompanied by a relative than if the consultation had taken place face-to-face (43%; n = 201 vs. 61%; n = 285). There was no change in responses during or after lock-down. This collection of feedback and analysis of patients’ preferences has validated the long-term implementation of medical genetics teleconsultations in certain circumstances and indications, for patients who prefer this approach.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1769-7212 1878-0849
DOI:	10.1016/j.ejmg.2023.104841