Telemedicine Readiness among Visitors of Government Hospital in Selangor, Malaysia during COVID-19 Pandemic

Technology such as telemedicine has been instrumental in delivering care, especially during COVID-19 pandemic. Visitors who accompany patients play an integral part in moderating access to patient's care. However, readiness of telemedicine among these family members remains to be explored. Exploration of readiness towards telemedicine among visitors of urban government hospital in Selangor was carried out.   Cross-sectional study utilizing questionnaire adapted from Hossain 2019 were conducted from November to December 2020 across 400 respondents.   A total of 234 females (48%) and 166 males (35%), with 267(66%) constitutes the age group of 21-30years-old. 322(84%) of respondents had tertiary education with a minimum of diploma holders. 183(38%) had a monthly income less than RM3000, and 112(23%) had an income of RM3000-6000. 369(76.9%) of respondents reported skill readiness for telemedicine, whereas 31(6.5%) reported poor skill readiness for telemedicine. Age, education, and household income were associated with telemedicine readiness skills with p=0.001; p<0.001 and p=0.018, respectively. The majority, 340(70%) of respondents, reported behavioral readiness for telemedicine. 375(93.8%) reported good access to telemedicine with a minimum of at least four accessibility of the following: smartphone, internet, computers, social-media account, file management, and communication.  High favorable readiness of telemedicine is reported. However, most respondents were from the age group of 21-30 years old. These visitors who had accompanied their family members for appointments despite belonging to low-middle income-group; showed favorable technological and behavior readiness for the usage of telemedicine. Visitors should be considered as integral elements when providing telemedicine services.  Favorable usage of telemedicine among the visitors indicates promising utilization of telemedicine in overcoming barriers for patient's care.

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