Telehealth: Survey of Doctors’ Services and Experiences in Australia

INFORMATION SHEET AND INTRODUCTORY LETTER

Re: Satisfaction and Quality in after-hours telehealth services among Australian general practitioners.

Dear,

Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in this survey.

This is a study being conducted by a team of researchers that include Assoc. Prof. Chris Ifediora (Griffith University School of Medicine and Dentistry) and Prof. Karen Trimmer (University of Southern Queensland). Other researchers in the team are Dr. Obinna Ifediora (University of Queensland), Dr. Adewuyi Ayodele (University of Southern Queensland), and Mrs. Claire Carpenter (a Registered Nurse based in the Tweed Area of New South Wales).

By looking at satisfaction and other parameters among doctors who engage in telehealth services within Australia, this work aims to evaluate quality and seek ways to improve service delivery in telehealth doctor consultations. The sample size includes all doctors that have delivered the service through the National Home Doctor Service (NHDS) between August 1, 2022, to July 30, 2023.

The survey is expected to take about 10 minutes to complete, and apart from this time consideration, no risks or discomforts are anticipated from taking part.

It is hoped that the findings will help improve quality in telehealth service deliveries, and will help interested doctors wishing to undertake such services in the future make informed decisions.

A copy of the finished work will be made available to all interested participants through the NHDS (13SICK), and will be emailed to you through the same email address available to the company.

Your participation in this study is voluntary, and strict confidentiality will be maintained throughout. Ethical clearance has been obtained from the Griffith University Human Research Ethics Committee, with reference number: GU Ref No: 2023/662

The collated, anonymized data and computed results will be stored in the Griffith University Research Storage Service in the active phase of the research. Afterward, this will be moved to the Griffith Archive Storage system and will be kept for a duration consistent with the University’s regulations.

If you have any concerns with this study, please contact Assoc. Prof. Chris O. Ifediora (MBBS, MPH, FRACGP, HMS-SEAL, AFANZAHPE) through “[email protected]” or 0755808331. If, however, you have additional questions about the ethics of this research, please contact the Manager, Research Ethics on 07 3735 4375 or [email protected].

If you wish to proceed with this study, please CLICK HERE to complete the questionnaire.