Awareness of telemedicine among patients with neurological disorders

Abstract

Although telemedicine is highly convenient, many patients resist participating in a medical system that is not conventionally face–to–face. We surveyed patients for treatment of neurological disorders and investigated their awarenesses of telemedicine. We collected 215 responses to questionnaires. The ratios of patients with multiple sclerosis/neuromyelitis optica, epilepsy who responded that they could use telemedicine were 80.0%, 73.7%. Being able to use telemedicine correlated negatively with age, but not at all with gender, time to the hospital, or ADL. Telemedicine to treat neurological disorders may be easier to introduce to patients with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, and more difficult to penetrate those with dementia.