To assess patient satisfaction with virtual telephone clinics during the pandemic, influencing factors on this, and future utility.

Covid-19 has had a significant impact on all health services. Within our service, all face-to-face neurology clinics were cancelled from March 20th 2020, due to increasing clinical demands, staff redeployment and exposure risk to patients. Telephone reviews were initiated as an alternative and the Multiple sclerosis (MS) team embraced this method to provide continuity of care.

We developed a postal questionnaire for patients receiving telephone reviews from an MS consultant or clinical fellow, March to July 2020. Ultimately, 635 anonymised questionnaires were posted to patients. Data analysis deployed both quantitative and qualitative methods.

To date, 254 (40%) patient questionnaires have been returned, mean age 50 years, 72% female, and 86% having an EDSS <7.0. Using a numerical rating scale (0-10, 10 = completely satisfied), 96% of patients reported an overall satisfaction score of ≥7. For 99% of patients, they found interaction to be sensitive and caring over telephone. Most patients were content with call duration (96%) and reported ample opportunity to ask questions (99%). During the pandemic, 89% of patients preferred the telephone call to a face-to-face appointment. For 47% of patients, there was clear preference for telephone review moving forward, rising to 55% among both wheelchair-using patients and those living more than fifty miles from clinic. 54% of patients felt that video call would further improve virtual clinical review.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, satisfaction is high with the telephone approach to MS clinical consultation. Although mixed, and influenced by level of disability and distance from the clinic, a significant body of patient opinion supports telephone calls remaining part of the clinic experience in the post-COVID era. This may lead to more efficient resource utilisation and minimise inconvenience and stress for patients.