Telemedicine use by physicians of the governmental hospitals after COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in Kuwait.

BACKGROUND

The (Coronavirus Disease 2019) COVID-19 pandemic was associated by escalating use of telemedicine to overcome the ban imposed for infection control. This study aims to assess use of telemedicine, awareness, knowledge, attitude and skills of the physicians in Kuwait after the pandemic.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out in Kuwait where a self-administered predesigned questionnaire was sent to 357 physicians working in the governmental hospitals between June and July 2025. The collected data included personal and professional factors, use, awareness, knowledge, attitude and skills of telemedicine use. In addition, barriers to use were sought.

RESULTS

Most physicians (84.9%) use telemedicine for remote contact with the patient data but only (19.9%) contact patients by videoconference. The most common patients to use telemedicine with were those whose mobility is difficult (45.95%), who live far from the hospital (42%) or contagious patients (41.5%). The most common barriers reported by physicians to the use of telemedicine were lack of support from the administration (31.7%), poor expert technical support (30.8%), limited internet access or speed issues (30.5%) and the perception that telemedicine is not appropriate for their practice (30.3%). The mean AKAS scores were 17.90 ± 2.32, 8.90 ± 1.30, 29.63 ± 3.67 and 24.30 ± 3.46 respectively.

CONCLUSION

There is a moderate to high level of awareness, knowledge, attitude and skills of TM among the physicians after COVID-19 pandemic. Barriers to use include mainly inadequate administrative support, poor technical infrastructure, inadequate training, confidentiality concerns and legal consequences.