TY - JOUR T1 - Teleophthalmology and COVID-19: the patient perspective JF - Future Healthcare Journal JO - Future Healthc J DO - 10.7861/fhj.2020-0139 SP - fhj.2020-0139 AU - Vidushi Golash AU - Sarju Athwal AU - Mona Khandwala Y1 - 2021/01/20 UR - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/early/2021/01/19/fhj.2020-0139.abstract N2 - Oculoplastic services at a UK district general hospital underwent reconfiguration to incorporate teleconsultations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and patient satisfaction was assessed.Methods All oculoplastic patients at Maidstone Hospital underwent telephone or video consultations in place of face-to-face reviews. Patient feedback surveys were conducted.Results 80 telephone and 40 video consultation responses were analysed. The majority of teleconsultations lasted 6–10 minutes. 55% of telephone and 82.5% of video consultation patients felt face-to-face reviews would not have changed the appointment outcome. Satisfaction scores of 10/10 were given by 71.3% of telephone and 72.5% of video consultation patients. Correlation between age and preference of consultation type was observed, with 62.5% of patients aged >65 years requesting regular face-to-face reviews compared to only 18.8% of 25–64-year-olds.Conclusion Patients highly support teleconsultation adaptations. This is an opportunity to incorporate and enhance teleconsultation facilities to meet current and future demand, especially with ongoing social distancing guidelines. ER -