Awareness, Attitude and Readiness of Clinical Staff Towards Telemedicine: A Study in Mashhad, Iran.

A questionnaire was used to survey Iranian clinical staff about telemedicine. The score for awareness was 13 ± 5.5 out of 35 and indicated low awareness about telemedicine. Only 43.7% stated they had heard about teleconsultation. The figure for tele-monitoring was 20.1%. Awareness about other types of telemedicine services was even lower. The most frequently-used sources of information about telemedicine were friends (51.4%) and public media (30.3%). Attitudes were generally positive about telemedicine (63.42 ± 9.5 out of 95). It was found that a significant positive correlation exists between attitude and awareness (p = 0.027). In conclusion, Iranian clinical staff has little knowledge about telemedicine services; however, they have a positive perception of this type of service. Providing appropriate education and information resources to them is necessary.