Patient and provider satisfaction with the use of telemedicine: overview and rationale for cautious enthusiasm.

Telemedicine research addressing user satisfaction abounds in academic literature. Results from patient satisfaction studies indicate exceptionally high levels of perceived satisfaction, often above the rates of expected satisfaction for traditional forms of health delivery. Results from provider satisfaction studies are also generally quite positive; however, data from providers point to higher concerns with delivery barriers and challenges. Even though data from patient and provider satisfaction research suggests overwhelming optimism for this delivery modality, this paper urges cautious embracement of these results for several reasons. First, many of the studies exhibit serious methodological weaknesses related to design and data collection instruments. In addition, the construct of satisfaction is largely undefined and is not clear. Even recognizing these caveats, the results of the study do offer some evidence that patient satisfaction will not impede the deployment of telemedicine, but provider satisfaction merits additional study.