A survey of awareness, knowledge, attitude, and skills of telemedicine among healthcare professionals in India.

Background: Telemedicine Practice Guidelines were promulgated in India in 2020. There is little information about the awareness, knowledge, attitude and skills (AKAS) of the healthcare professionals regarding telemedicine and its practice guidelines a year after. The aim of the study was to study the awareness, knowledge, attitudes and skills of the healthcare workers of the country about telemedicine especially in the context of telemedicine practice guidelines 2020. Methods: An online survey was conducted over 12 weeks from active healthcare workers in India. A standard AKAS Questionnaire for telemedicine and other close and open ended questions were used. Results: A total of 602 active healthcare workers participated in the study. It was seen that a majority of participants had high scores for awareness, knowledge, and attitude toward telemedicine but a mere 39.53% scored high for skills related to telemedicine. A majority of the respondents had no knowledge of the existence of telemedicine practice guidelines and very few had seen or read them. A majority of the respondents were keen to attend a course or training to enhance their understanding and practice of telemedicine. Conclusion: The results of the study show that the basic awareness and background knowledge regarding telemedicine exists in the healthcare professionals in the country. The requirement is to train and educate them about the skills and provisions of the telemedicine practice guidelines 2020 to ensure optimal use of telemedicine and to avoid medico-legal issues.