Abstract

Objective
PD patients often find it difficult to visit hospitals because of the motor symptoms, distance to the hospital, or absence of caregivers. Telemedicine is one way to solve this problem.
Methods
We surveyed 554 PD patients from eight university hospitals in Korea. The questionnaire consisted of clinical characteristics of participants, possible teleconferencing methods, and preference of telemedicine.
Results
A total of 385 patients (70%) had interest to receive telemedicine. Among them, 174 preferred telemedicine whereas 211 preferred in-person visit. The longer the duration of disease, and the longer the time required to visit the hospital, the more the patients have interest to receive telemedicine.
Conclusion
This is the first study on PD patients' preference for telemedicine in Korea. Although the majority of patients with PD have a positive perspective on telemedicine, their interest to receive telemedicine depends on their different circumstance.