Current practices and Improvement Potential of Telemedicine Adoption among Physicians in Different Specialties in Egypt | ||
| Al-Azhar International Medical Journal | ||
| Volume 2025, Issue 5, May 2025, Pages 264-270 PDF (401.74 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: https://doi.org/10.21608/aimj.2025.446589 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Sania Ali Yehia1; Mohamed Alboraie2; Doaa Mazen Abdel-Salam3; Ahmed Mabrouk Elshiekh4; Ahmed Elsayed Said Nour Eldeen5, 6; Fatma Rageh7; Eman Abdelrahman8; Sally Waheed Elkhadry* 9 | ||
| 1Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Liver Institute, Menoufia University | ||
| 2Department of Internal Medicine Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt | ||
| 3Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. | ||
| 4Department of Nephrology - Medical Insurance Hospital Complex – Tanta, Gharbia, Egypt. | ||
| 5Department of Basic Medical and Dental Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Zarqa University, Zarqa, Jordan. | ||
| 6Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt | ||
| 7Department of infectious diseases, gastroenterology and hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez University, Suez, Egypt | ||
| 8Department of internal medicine and nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, Port Said University, Port Said, Egypt. | ||
| 9Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Liver Institute, Menoufia University, | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background: Telemedicine is a newly emerging way in the Egyptian healthcare system, especially after the COVID-19 epidemic; however, understanding its practice and improving its use is critical for sustainability. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the current situation of telemedicine practice among physicians working in different Egyptian healthcare facilities and its potential for improvement. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among physicians of different specialties working in various Egyptian healthcare facilities using a constructed questionnaire. Results: Sixty-two percent of the physicians were telemedicine users, and 39.71% used telemedicine for the first time after COVID-19. Nearly 44% of the physicians reported that it was easy to learn and use telemedicine, and 32.25% revealed that it was easy to interact with the patient while using telemedicine. 33.66% of the physicians reported being satisfied with the telemedicine experience. Nearly three-quarters of the physicians reported many benefits of telemedicine use. The most perceived barriers to telemedicine use were increased liability for medical errors (62.1%), ethical barriers (58.6%), and cultural barriers (55.9%). Concerning the use of telemedicine among different specialties, 66.1%, 58.7 %, and 55.7% of telemedicine users were from the internal medicine specialty, surgical specialty, and other specialties, respectively. Regarding gender, 68.1% of telemedicine users were males (p-value <0.05). In addition, 72.2% of telemedicine users worked in the private health sector (p-value <0.05). Conclusion: The current situation of telemedicine adoption among Egyptian physicians indicates a significant adoption after COVID-19. Reported barriers to expanding the adoption of telemedicine services included increased liability for medical errors, ethical barriers, and cultural barriers. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Telemedicine; Egypt; health care; different specialties | ||
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