Background Physician's diagnostic ability of pneumoconiosis varies across China; therefore, remote pneumoconiosis consultation may be acquired. However, the attitude to remote pneumoconiosis consultation is not clear among health professionals.
Objective The purpose of this study is to understand the willingness of practitioners in primary health care institutions to order remote pneumoconiosis consultation, and provide basic survey data for improving the pneumoconiosis diagnosis ability of physicians in China.
Methods Between January 2015 and December 2016, a total of 282 physicians from 216 primary hospitals who participated in training sessions of pneumoconiosis diagnosis in Zhejiang Education Center for Occupational Disease Prevention and Control were selected as study subjects. A total of 282 self-designed questionnaires were distributed to investigate the willingness to order remote pneumoconiosis consultation. The questionnaire included basic information, willingness to order remote pneumoconiosis consultation, and expectations and subjective opinions on remote pneumoconiosis consultation, and the differences in the willingness to order and expectations of remote consultation were compared.
Results A total of 282 valid questionnaires were returned, and the valid return rate was 100%. Of the 282 investigated physicians, 258 (91.5%) respondents reported digital radiography (DR) machines in their hospitals. The participation rate of remote consultation for other diseases (40.3%) and the awareness rate of remote consultation (87.1%) were higher among those with senior professional titles than among those of other titles (P < 0.05). The questionnaire survey showed that 259 (91.8%) respondents were willing to order remote pneumoconiosis consultation. There were significant differences in the expectation of remote consultation on case study, discussion of difficult cases, and distance education among physicians with different professional backgrounds (P < 0.05). Those with junior and senior professional titles had higher willingness to order remote consultation and higher expectation of remote consultation on discussion of difficult cases than those with intermediate professional titles (P < 0.05). Moreover, 85 (30.1%) respondents gave feedback on the remote consultation of pneumoconiosis; among them, 24 respondents believed that relevant laws, regulations, and consultation management systems were the most important; 16 respondents suggested stronger support from relevant authorities and increased investment in software and hardware equipment; 13 respondents suggested uploading complete clinical data, including medical history, and on-site investigation results in a consolidated format to avoid electronic image distortion and with increased transmission speed; 9 respondents stressed the importance of sufficient consultation time and timely feedback.
Conclusion The selected physicians from primary health care institutions show a high willingness rate to order remote consultation of pneumoconiosis. Most concerns about remote pneumoconiosis consultation are associated with laws and regulations as well as consultation management systems.
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