Use and Attitudes towards Teleconsultation in Dentistry

Eino Ignatius, K. Mäkelä

Sein?joki Central Hospital, Sein?joki, Finland.
Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland.

DOI: 10.4236/etsn.2013.21002                

Abstract

An electronic (web-based) questionnaire was devised to find out the extent of teleconsultation and e-mail use for patient-provided communications in dentistry. This project was carried out in 2011 inthe health care district of South-Ostrobothnia, in South-Western Finland.The questionnaire was sent by e-mail to all 120 regional dentists, to which 76 replies were obtained (response rate 63%). The responses indicated a surprisingly positive attitude towards teleconsultation. A clear majority of 91% indicated that it could bring additional benefits to the current consultation methods.This study revealed that a slight majority of dentists in the region use e-mail for patient communication and 53% used e-mail for consultation. Approximately 10% use videoconferencing for consultation.The study also revealed that the majority of those who do not yet use electronic consultation are willing to try them out in the future. Security issues are a concern for many dentists. Practically all respondents wish for written instructions on the use of electronic consultation.

Keywords

Teledentistry; Teleconsultation; E-Mail; Patient-Provider Communication; Computer-Assisted Dentistry

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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