Patients' Satisfaction With Virtual Phone Clinics During the COVID-19 Pandemic at Outpatient Clinics in a Teaching Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Introduction The concept of virtual clinics, which have been in existence since the 1960s, was initially limited to military and space applications due to infrastructure limitations. However, with the evolution of communication technology and infrastructure improvements, virtual clinics became accessible to the general public, although they were not widely adopted until the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Virtual clinics offer several benefits, including overcoming distance-related challenges, providing healthcare services to underserved areas, reducing medical costs, and saving patients time. this research aims to assess patient satisfaction with virtual clinics in Saudi Arabia after the COVID-19 pandemic preventive measures are lifted, allowing for a comparison between virtual and traditional face-to-face clinics. This research aims to provide a more comprehensive assessment of patient satisfaction with virtual clinics.Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study and interviewed patients who had attended KKHU (King Khalid University Hospital) outpatient clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess their level of satisfaction with virtual clinics through a questionnaire.Results The questionnaire was completed by 221 participants, 201 of whom met our inclusion criteria. The average score was 3.89, the standard deviation was 0.76, and the overall satisfaction ranged from 3.78 to 4. The mean and SD of the overall technical aspect satisfaction were 4.1 and 0.897, respectively. The mean and SD for the total perceived quality of care satisfaction were 3.89 and 0.95, respectively. The mean score for overall administration satisfaction was 3.74, and the SD was 0.92. The mean and SD for the virtual clinics as a whole were 3.82 and 0.73, respectively.Conclusion The overall level of satisfaction was 3.78 out of 5; however, 53% of participants did not want their next visit to be virtual and 73% of males and 63% of females were satisfied with KKHU outpatient clinics.