Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected patient care and experience. We assessed the evolution of NET patient perceptions during and peri-pandemic via a bespoke patient satisfaction survey.

Methods: In February 2022, questionnaires with a pre-paid return envelope were posted out to 87 randomly selected NET patients, treated between January and December 2021. This consisted of 29 questions covering: initial contact, physician care and support, illness with COVID-19, experiences with telemedicine, and delays to care and treatment. Response types included free text and multiple-choice. The anonymised data was tabulated in an Excel spreadsheet, analysed numerically and thematically and then compared with 2017 and 2020 data.

Results: 51 out of 87 responses were received. 90% of patients surveyed felt very well cared for by their NET physicians, up from 71% in 2020. In 2017, 77% reported receiving very or fairly good psychological support. This was 56% in 2020 but has since increased to 82% in 2021. 90% felt that the wait period before examinations or treatments was very or fairly acceptable, in comparison to 79% in 2020. None felt their chemo/radiotherapy was delayed. 8% reported their follow-up was delayed, down from 34% in 2020. 63% felt follow-up care was very well organised, 6% reported it was not. The free text highlighted patients’ preferences for telemedicine as it removed travel time. Equally, it highlighted advantages of face-to-face appointments with patients feeling more reassured, allowing for examination, and preferable for the hard of hearing or those with a poor Wi-Fi connection.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic saw a reduction in patient satisfaction in 2020 in areas such as physician care and psychological support. The recovery period has demonstrated an improvement in patient satisfaction. The results have highlighted the importance of patient preference in choosing telemedicine and the value of organised follow-up care.