Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly popularized remote consultations (web-based consultations) utilizing information and communication technology in occupational health activities. Although web-based consultations offer numerous advantages, such as improved accessibility, reduced travel time and costs, lower infection risk, and the ability to serve workers in remote locations, ensuring the quality of consultations relative to in-person consultations remains a challenge. From the perspective of psychosomatic medicine clinicians and occupational health professionals, several differences have been noted, including limitations in psychological assessment, difficulties in building rapport, variations in participant satisfaction depending on the interview format, and issues related to confidentiality and privacy protection. In interviews involving serious decisions, such as leave-of-absence/return-to-work interviews or physician interviews with workers engaged in long working hours, worker satisfaction tends to be lower than that of face-to-face interviews. This paper analyzes the differences between web-based and face-to-face interviews. It examines the current state and challenges from multiple perspectives, including psychological assessment, interview environment, participant perception, confidentiality and privacy, and ease of follow-up, and discusses future prospects.
