User satisfaction with teleophthalmology with nonmydriatic camera for diabetic retinopathy screening

Objective: To determine satisfaction with the retinography service among patients with diabetes. Methods: We performed a telephone survey of 64 users from July 2006 to March 2007. The mean age was 65.2 years, 57.8% were men, and 54.7% were from urban primary care centers. The variables analyzed were sex, age, primary care team, retinography/tonometry (normal/pathologic), accessibility, punctuality. hygiene, consultation length, explanations, good hands, kindness on a scale rated bad/average/good/very good/perfect, satisfaction with the telephone call informing users of the results of the examination, and overall satisfaction, both rated on a scale from 0 to 10. Results: Accessibility, punctuality, hygiene, consultation length, good hands and kindness received scores of > 80%. The mean overall satisfaction score was 8.38% (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 8.03-8.72), while satisfaction with the telephone call was 7.88% (95%CI: 7.4-8.36). The variables associated (p < 0.05) with overall satisfaction of >= 8 were consultation length, receiving comprehensible explanations, and the telephone call informing patients of the results of the examination. Logistic regression showed(p < 0.05) that the variable with the greatest influence on satisfaction was the telephone Call. Conclusions: the retinography service was favorably evaluated. The variable with the greatest influence on high satisfaction was communicating the results by telephone. The service will promote new technologies (SMS, e-mail). (c) 2008 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.