Objective:

We aim to characterize the telehealth experiences of autonomic disease (AD) and parkinson’s disease (PD) patients.

Background:

Telemedicine is a popular modality for receiving healthcare today. Ensuring efficacy and satisfaction is thus very important. Current literature reports high satisfaction, improved health, and feasibility amongst PD patients. While promising, there still exists a dearth of literature describing the experiences of AD patients as a whole and including qualitative data in analysis of care experiences.

Design/Methods:

We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study using anonymous, survey responses from AD and PD patients within a large health system. The study questionnaire included both Likert-scale prompts and open responses. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses were incorporated in discussed findings.

Results:

Twenty-five patients with either AD or PD diagnoses who successfully completed the questionnaire were included. Over 80% of participants were confidently able to access medical appointments and providers via telehealth services. 88% accessed telehealth services without others’ assistance. Conversely, 68% did not agree that telehealth appointments were accessible during impacted internet connection. 92% of respondents, however, felt satisfied with the quality of care from telehealth appointments, with 76% finding the care comparable to in-person visits. Notably, 76% experienced improved care access to care and also had their needs met from telehealth. Among open responses, 43% highlighted physical barriers and distance hindering in-person attendance. Four responses discussed diminished fine motor movements limiting telehealth use. Three preferred in-person appointments, denoting the importance of thorough physical exams.

Conclusions:

Telehealth effectively meets AD and PD patients’ needs comparably to in-person visits, improves care access, and delivers high satisfaction. This novel modality still proves inadequate during limited internet connection and for those with impacted fine motor skills. While telehealth holds promising utility for AD and PD patients’ care, continued study into furthering accessibility for patients of all abilities and technological constraints is still warranted.