Patient’s Perspective of Telemedicine in Poland—A Two-Year Pandemic Picture

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused the healthcare system to drastically reduce in-person visits and suddenly switch to telemedicine services to provide clinical care to patients. The implementation of teleconsultation in medical facilities was a novelty for most Polish patients. In Poland, the main telehealth services were provided in the form of telephone consultations. The aim of this study is to determine patients’ perceptions of telemedicine in the context of their experiences with the healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we presented how the evaluation of telemedicine services from the perspective of patients in Poland changed in the context of the ongoing pandemic. We conducted two surveys (year by year) on a representative quota sample of the Polish population (N = 623). This ensured that our observations took into account the evolution of views on telemedicine over time. We confirmed the well-known relationship that innovations introduced in the healthcare sector require a longer period of adaptation. We also identified significant concerns that limit the positive perception of telemedicine and compared them with experiences described in other countries.