Conference paper
TELEPSYCHIATRY IN POLISH PATIENTS’ AND DOCTORS’ OPINION
Magdalena Wojtuszek
; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Students’ Scientific Society, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Justyna Kachnic
; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Students’ Scientific Society, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Krzysztof Krysta
; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Joanna Wutke
; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Students’ Scientific Society, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Abstract
Background: Telepsychiatry is a new method of medical care, using modern communication technologies and electronic
informations. It consists of web pages, containing data about diseases and their treatment in the form of multimedia libraries with
video- and audiobooks.
This research concerns verification of knowledge and attitude to telepsychiatry amongst patients and psychiatrists.
Subjects and methods: An anonymous survey was conducted amongst 105 psychiatrists aged 26-74, including 74 women and 31
men and 102 patients aged 21-79, including 61 women and 41 men.
Results: Research reveals that majority of patients never met with the concept of ‘telepsychiatry’ and do not know what it means.
However, more than 50% of respondents answered positively to every question considering the utility of telepsychiatry. Furthermore
according to 18% it is possible to replace eye-to-eye conversation by videoconferencing.
Only 15% of doctors claim to have an extensive knowledge on telepsychiatry, and 10% do not know what it means. The vast majority
of physicians perceive positive aspects of this method of medical care, but 63% would not want general insertion of telepsychiatry.
Doctors are apprehensive of losing personal data and medical confidentiality, and of the necessity of legal changes as well.
Conclusion: The obtained results allow us to conclude that Polish patients and doctors, regardless of their knowledge, age,
gender or disease, perceive advantages of telepsychiatry. In connection with this, implementing this method into the Polish medical
market makes sense and is in accordance with both patients’ and doctors’ opinion. Based on our research, we confirmed that there is
a necessity of wider popularization of telepsychiatry in Polish therapeutics.
Keywords
telepsychiatry; telemedicine; videoconferencing; telehealth
Hrčak ID:
264574
URI
Publication date:
8.9.2015.
Visits: 325 *