Introduction The development of telemedical methods is being discussed as an important tool in
today's medical care as it opens up an approach to optimize the efficiency of
patient pathways and time processes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability
of telemedicine and video-consultation at the ENT Medical Center-University Freiburg.
Methods From March- June 2021, the online telemedicine module was newly implemented at the
ENT Medical Center Freiburg. Patients had the opportunity to make an online consultation
appointment in the form of a personal outpatient appointment or a video-consultation.
We recorded symptoms, age, travel distance, gender, insurance-status, special consultation
wish and consultation choice. Acceptance of the offer was compared with the total
volume of outpatient ENT patients. In March and April, we conducted video-consultations
and analyzed the success.
Results The acceptance of telemedicine and the video-consultation was low. 507 out of a total
of 7435 outpatient ENT patients used the telemedicine module. 35 patients chose the
option of a video-consultation. In March and April, 10 patients requested video-consultation
out of 128 telemedicine-requests and 3719 outpatient registrations. After a phone
call, 19 patients agreed to a video-consultation. 11 video-consultations were carried
out. The choise of consultation was not altered by age of the patients or travel distance.
Conclusion The usability of telemedicine at the ENT Medical Center-University Freiburg is low.
A physical presentation is preferred, even under the restrictions and risks during
the Covid19 pandemic. Further studies are needed to optimize the application possibilities
and to evaluate possible useful areas of telemedicine, e.g. follow-up appointments.
