What do physicians think of telemedicine? A survey in different European regions.

To discover the perception of telemedicine in a sample of physicians not yet participating in telemedicine networks, a questionnaire was sent to doctors in different European countries. The questions covered various general aspects of telemedicine. The percentage of questionnaires returned ranged from 12% (Central Europe) to 27% (Spain). Apart from the rather disappointing response rates the results document a strong interest in telemedicine on the part of the physicians surveyed. Knowledge of the existence of telemedicine was high. Most of the respondents would have liked to have had their clinic's telemedicine system in their own laboratory. More than 50% of the physicians thought that their work would be improved by using telemedicine. Respondents from Central Europe were significantly less enthusiastic about telemedicine than those from other regions. However, the answers to the majority of the questions were similar in the different groups.