ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2021
Acceptance of Telerheumatology by Rheumatologists and General Practitioners in Germany: Nationwide Cross-sectional Survey Study.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Comparing nurse-led and rheumatologist-led care for rheumatoid arthritis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P · 2025Pooled it
- Telehealth in rheumatology: the 2021 Arab League of Rheumatology Best Practice Guidelines.Rheumatology international · 2022Guideline
- Telemedicine adoption in cardiology: Determinants and predictors identified using Bayesian Model Averaging and Machine Learning.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Digital Transformation of Rheumatology Care in Germany: Cross-Sectional National Survey.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- [Attitudes toward digital tools in pain medicine : Survey of German Pain Society health professional members and members of self-help groups].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2024Article
- Facilitators and challenges of implementing a digital patient education programme for rheumatoid arthritis into clinical practice.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Identification of Motivational Determinants for Telemedicine Use Among Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis in Germany: Secondary Analysis of Data From a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Factors associated with the willingness to provide telerehabilitation by physiotherapists treating older adults or people with neurological diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.PLOS digital health · 2024Article
- Prediction of the acceptance of telemedicine among rheumatic patients: a machine learning-powered secondary analysis of German survey data.Rheumatology international · 2024Article
- Understanding inherent influencing factors to digital health adoption in general practices through a mixed-methods analysis.NPJ digital medicine · 2024Article
- Acceptance of Telemedicine by Specialists and General Practitioners in Cardiology Care: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Digital Approaches for Myositis.Current rheumatology reports · 2023Review
- Mapping Factors That Affect the Uptake of Digital Therapeutics Within Health Systems: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Factors Associated With Telemedicine Use Among Patients With Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Disease: Secondary Analysis of Data From a German Nationwide Survey.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- At-home blood self-sampling in rheumatology: a qualitative study with patients and health care professionals.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Factors Associated With Telemedicine Use Among German General Practitioners and Rheumatologists: Secondary Analysis of Data From a Nationwide Survey.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- Pandemic-Triggered Adoption of Telehealth in Underserved Communities: Descriptive Study of Pre- and Postshutdown Trends.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- Why do we fall short in reaching equity in telerheumatology?Health policy and technology · 2022Article
- Experience with telemedicine among rheumatology clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic: an international survey.Rheumatology advances in practice · 2022Article
- Evaluation of the use of video consultation in German rheumatology care before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe worldwide burden of musculoskeletal diseases is increasing. The number of newly registered rheumatologists has stagnated. Primary care, which takes up a key role in early detection of rheumatic disease, is working at full capacity. COVID-19 and its containment impede rheumatological treatment. Telemedicine in rheumatology (telerheumatology) could support rheumatologists and general practitioners.
objectiveThe goal of this study was to investigate acceptance and preferences related to the use of telerheumatology care among German rheumatologists and general practitioners.
methodsA nationwide, cross-sectional, self-completed, paper-based survey on telerheumatology care was conducted among outpatient rheumatologists and general practitioners during the pre-COVID-19 period.
resultsA total of 73.3% (349/476) of survey participants rated their knowledge of telemedicine as unsatisfactory, poor, or very poor. The majority of survey participants (358/480, 74.6%) answered that they do not currently use telemedicine, although 62.3% (291/467) would like to. Barriers to the implementation of telemedicine include the purchase of technology equipment (182/292, 62.3%), administration (181/292, 62.0%), and poor reimbursement (156/292, 53.4%). A total of 69.6% (117/168) of the surveyed physicians reckoned that telemedicine could be used in rheumatology. Surveyed physicians would prefer to use telemedicine to communicate directly with other physicians (370/455, 81.3%) than to communicate with patients (213/455, 46.8%). Among treatment phases, 64.4% (291/452) of participants would choose to use telemedicine during follow-up. Half of the participants would choose telecounseling as a specific approach to improve rheumatology care (91/170, 53.5%).
conclusionsBefore COVID-19 appeared, our results indicated generally low use but high acceptance of the implementation of telerheumatology among physicians. Participants indicated that the lack of a structural framework was a barrier to the effective implementation of telerheumatology. Training courses should be introduced to address the limited knowledge on the part of physicians in the use of telemedicine. More research into telerheumatology is required. This includes large-scale randomized controlled trials, economic analyses, and the exploration of user preferences.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.