Clinical perception of effectiveness of virtual appointments and comparison with appointment outcomes at a specialist children's hospital

Introduction: A transition from face-to-face to virtual consultations occurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Evaluation of outcome data is essential for future healthcare modelling.

Methods: Clinicians at a children's hospital evaluated perceptions of face-to-face video and telephone appointments by questionnaire. Responses were compared with operational outcomes from June 2019 and June 2020.

Results: Ninety-three clinicians responded from 28 subspecialties. Virtual consultations increased from 6% (2019) to 67% (2020). No differences were found between appointment types for recording a medical and social history; a significant difference (p<0.001) was seen for the perceived ability to detect clinical signs, organise investigations and make a diagnosis. The proportion of appointments resulting in discharge compared with face-to-face visits was unchanged. The proportion of patients requiring further contact increased from 35% (32% face-to-face and 3% telephone) to 46% (14% face-to-face; 21% telephone and 11% video; chi-squared 426; p<0.0001).The percentage of patients offered an appointment following two 'was not brought' appointments increased from 71% (2019) to 81% (2020) and was most common following telephone appointments (20% face-to-face, 43% telephone and 18% video; chi-squared 474; p<0.0001).

Conclusion: The perception of clinicians is that virtual appointments enabled continuity of paediatric care with improved clinical assessment capability and attendance during video consultations compared with telephone consultations.