Otolaryngology Patient Satisfaction with In-Office Appointments and Virtual Visits Due to COVID-19

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic forced otolaryngologists to seek new methods of providing patient care in a remote setting. The effect of this paradigm shift on patient satisfaction, however, remains unelucidated. This study compares patient satisfaction with telehealth visits during the COVID-19 pandemic to that with in-office visits during the same period in 2019. Methods: Press Ganey survey responses of patients seen by otolaryngologists within a large, academic, multicenter hospital system were gathered. Responses were included in analyses if they corresponded with a visit that occurred either in clinic March to December 2019 or via telehealth March to December 2020. Chi-Square Test of Independence and Fisher’s Exact Test were employed to detect differences between years. Binary logistic regressions were performed to detect the factors most predictive of positive telehealth experiences. Results: Patient overall satisfaction with in-office and telehealth visits did not differ significantly (76.4% in 2019 vs 78.0% in 2020 rated visit overall as “very good,” P =.09). Patients seen by a Head and Neck (odds ratio 4.13, 95% confidence interval 1.52-11.26, P =.005), Laryngology (OR 5.96, 95% CI 1.51-23.50, P =.01), or Rhinology (OR 4.02, 95% CI 1.55-10.43, P =.004) provider were significantly more likely to report a positive telehealth experience. Conclusions: Patients seen via telehealth during COVID-19 reported levels of satisfaction similar to those seen in-office the year prior. These telehealth satisfaction levels, however, are contextualized within the expected confines of a pandemic. Further research is required to determine whether satisfaction remains consistent as telemedicine becomes a ubiquitous component of medical practice.