Table 4 Various modes of teleconsultation
From: Teleophthalmology and retina: a review of current tools, pathways and services
Mode | Platform example | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|
Video | • Closest to face-to-face consultation • Offers important visual information • Better patient rapport • More reliable patient identification | • Requires more complex and expensive setup (i.e. high-quality webcam and internet connection) • Vulnerable to privacy and security risks | |
Phone/Audio | Digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT) phones [138] | • Convenient and quick • Cheaper given less IT infrastructure requirement • Widely accessible | • No visual cue(s) • May be difficult to establish patient rapport |
Text-based | Florence [139] | • Convenient and quick • Cheapest given minimal IT infrastructure requirement • Widely accessible | • Communication is largely asynchronous • No audio or visual cue(s) • Difficult to establish patient rapport |
Hybrid | N/A—consists of alternating face-to-face and virtual consultations [140, 141] | • Screening/diagnostic tests, physical examination and treatments can be incorporated • More efficient care pathways may be created | • More costly • Gap in accessibility among those with digital literacy challenges |