Telemedicine Utilization in Tertiary, Specialized, and Secondary Hospitals in Thailand
Issued Date
2024-08-01
Resource Type
eISSN
26924366
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85201088622
Journal Title
Telemedicine Reports
Volume
5
Issue
1
Start Page
237
End Page
246
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Telemedicine Reports Vol.5 No.1 (2024) , 237-246
Suggested Citation
Gaewkhiew P., Kittiratchakool N., Suwanpanich C., Saeraneesopon T., Athibodee T., Kumluang S., Chuanchaiyakul T., Liu S., Chanpanitkitchot S., Laosuangkul A., Isaranuwatchai W. Telemedicine Utilization in Tertiary, Specialized, and Secondary Hospitals in Thailand. Telemedicine Reports Vol.5 No.1 (2024) , 237-246. 246. doi:10.1089/tmr.2024.0027 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/100559
Title
Telemedicine Utilization in Tertiary, Specialized, and Secondary Hospitals in Thailand
Corresponding Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Introduction: COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of telemedicine for counseling, follow-up examination, and treatment purposes. The official guidelines in Thailand were launched to regulate or frame the protocols for health care professions and teams in different organizations. Objectives: To explore the trend of telemedicine utilization in selected hospitals in Thailand and to understand the characteristics of patients who used telemedicine from 2020 to 2023. Methods: This retrospective secondary data analysis was conducted in four hospitals in Thailand: two tertiary care (T1 and T2) hospitals, one secondary care (SN) hospital, and one specialized (SP) hospital. Data were routinely collected when services were provided and were categorized into telemedicine outpatient department (OPD) visits or onsite OPD visits. The data included demographic information (age, sex), date and year of service, location (province and health region), and primary diagnosis (using International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision codes). Descriptive analysis was conducted using R and STATA software. Results: All four hospitals reported an increase in telemedicine use from 2020 to 2023. The majority of telemedicine users were female (>65%) at all hospitals except for the SP hospital (44%). Participants aged 25–59 years reported greater utilization of telemedicine than did the other age-groups. The within-hospital comparison between OPD visits before and after telemedicine was significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The situation during the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition to the post-COVID-19 era impacted telemedicine utilization, which could support national monitoring and evaluation policies. However, further studies are needed to explore other aspects, including changes in telemedicine utilization over time for longer time-frames, effectiveness of telemedicine, and consumer satisfaction.