Defining Dimensions of Patient Satisfaction with Telemedicine: An Analysis of Existing Measurement Instruments

Abstract

As telemedicine usage continues to grow there is a need to ensure the means are available to evaluate their success. Patient satisfaction can play a key role in determining the success of telemedicine projects. However, satisfaction remains loosely defined and there are no commonly accepted views on what it consists of. A lack of well-defined dimensions for measuring telemedicine satisfaction can make it difficult to interpret and compare results. By using a grounded theory approach for the analysis of existing patient satisfaction instruments, this research has identified several dimensions for describing patient satisfaction with telemedicine. In an effort to define these dimensions, this research examines their relationship to the existing telemedicine, information systems, and healthcare literature. In total 18 first level constructs, and 4 second order constructs were created for describing these dimensions and are defined in this research.