Patient and Provider Experiences With Compassionate Care in Virtual Physiatry: Qualitative Study

Background: Telemedicine in the realm of rehabilitation includes the remote delivery of rehabilitation services usingcommunication technologies (eg, telephone, emails, and video). The widespread application of virtual care grants a suitable timeto explore the intersection of compassion and telemedicine, especially due to the impact of COVID-19 and how it greatly influencedthe delivery of health care universally. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore how compassionate care is understood and experienced by physiatrists andpatients engaged in telemedicine. Methods: We used a qualitative descriptive approach to conduct interviews with patients and physiatrists between June 2021and March 2022. Patients were recruited across Canada from social media and from a single hospital network in Toronto, Ontario.Physiatrists were recruited across Canada through social media and the Canadian Association for Physical Medicine andRehabilitation (CAPM&R) email listserve. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed thematically. Results: A total of 19 participants were interviewed-8 physiatrists and 11 patients. Two themes capturing physiatrists'andpatients'experiences with delivering and receiving compassionate care, especially in the context of virtual care were identified:(1) compassionate care is inherently rooted in health care providers'inner intentions and are, therefore, expressed as caringbehaviors and (2) virtual elements impact the delivery and receipt of compassionate care. Conclusions: Compassionate care stemmed from physiatrists'caring attitudes which then manifest as caring behaviors. In turn,these caring attitudes and behaviors enable individualized care and the establishment of a safe space for patients. Moreover, thevirtual care modality both positively and negatively influenced how compassion is enacted by physiatrists and received by patients.Notably, there was large ambiguity around the norms and etiquette surrounding virtual care. Nonetheless, the flexibility andperson-centeredness of virtual care cause it to be useful in health care settings