Evaluation by primary healthcare providers of potential telehealth scenarios in Turkey, Bolu example, 2020

Background: World Health Organization defines telehealth as providing healtcare services while the patients and healthcare professionals are physically distant from each other. Telehaealth practices are becoming widespread worldwide. The aim of this study is to evaluate the opinions of primary healthcare providers regarding potential telehealth practices in Turkey. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The universe of this study consists of 406 primary healthcare providers working in the province of Bolu during July 2020. The study was concluded with 319 participants (78.6%). The survey portion of the study consists of six telehealth scenarios which are designed by researchers inspired by worldwide telehealth practices. Besides the socio-demographic features of the participants and their overall opinions on telehealth, for each telehealth scenario acceptance, potential benefits, potential obstacles, innovativeness, fit to the scenario and potential realization year is evaluated. The data for the study is collected with a survey under observation. For the statistical analysis, descriptive statistics, Pearson Chi-square test, Fisher's Exact Test and Mann Whitney U test is used. The necessary ethical approval and permits are obtained. Results: 73.0% of the participants are female, 23.0% are male and the average age is 37.1±9.1 years. 33.9% of the participants are physicians and 66.1% of them are non-physicians healtcare providers. 65.8% of the participants work in the urban areas and 34.2% in the rural areas. While the most frequently application area for telehealth is preventive health services (77.6%), the most frequently stated target group is the physically disabled (74.1%). 85.4% of the participants expressed that telehealth can be applied in primary care. 72.5% stated that telehealth should be included in curriculum of health-related schools. 68.8% said that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a positive outlook on telehealth. 62.7% stated that telehealth would lower the healthcare cost. The most accepted scenario by the participants was "Asynchronous, Store and Forward" (93.4%), while the least accepted scenario was "Synchronous, Video-conference" (47.5%). While the most frequently cited benefit of the scenarios is the increase in the quality of healthcare services, the frequently mentioned obstacles are the installation of the system cost and technical prerequisites. Conclusion: Most of the primary healthcare professionals believe that telehealth practices can be used in Turkey. With regards to the rapidly growing telehealth practices all around the globe, regulations should be made while keeping in mind the opinions and suggestions of healthcare providers.