Telemedicine consultations in obstetrics and gynecology - A population based study in Polishspeaking women

Abstract

Objectives: Telemedicine is no longer in the realm of the future. It has already become an aspect of modern medicine. A number of countries across the world have successfully introduced telemedicine systems, which allows patients access to general healthcare and specialist consultations regardless of the distance separating patients from physicians. We aimed to evaluate the use of a telemedicine system by Polish-speaking women for the purpose of gynecological and obstetric consultations. Material and methods: Our study used a telemedicine system operated by a healthcare entity offering healthcare services. We prospectively obtained data from Polish-speaking patients (residing all over the world) who underwent teleconsultations in gynecology or obstetrics in the period between Dec. 1, 2016, and Mar. 31, 2018. Results: A total of 244 telemedicine consultations in 185 female patients were evaluated. These consultations were overwhelmingly for gynecological cases (76%). Obstetric consultations, which constituted only 24% of the total number of consultations, involved predominantly pathologies of pregnancy. The mean age of patients who used the telemedicine system was 27 years. Ten percent of the study subjects resided in a country other than Poland at the time of their consultation. Only one patient required an urgent referral for an in-person consultation at an emergency department. Conclusions: Telemedicine consultations not only offer an easier access to the relatively difficult to obtain consultations with a specialist in the field of gynecology and obstetrics but may also be an alternative to conventional doctors' appointments, chiefly for those women who currently reside abroad or for those who seek an immediate gynecological consultation.