Patient Satisfaction with Telehealth in Rural Settings: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Telehealth provides health care services to clients through telecommunications. Rehabilitation services such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language therapy can be delivered via telehealth. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients’ reports of their satisfaction with telehealth compared to standard in-person therapy for patients living in rural areas. Four databases were utilized for this systematic review. The following words were searched: telehealth, rural, and patient satisfaction. Abstract searches identified 251 articles, and 55 were read in full text. Four articles met inclusion criteria. There was high satisfaction for patients in all studies regarding the use of telehealth. Findings showed that overall, telehealth supported increased rates of patient satisfaction for OT, PT, and SLP services delivered to rural communities.

Keywords

• client satisfaction
• occupational therapy
• patient preference
• patient satisfaction
• physical therapy
• remote
• rural
• speech-language therapy
• telehealth
• telemedicine