Abstract：
Objectives: Telemedicine has been widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other health care professionals, Chinese medicine practitioners (CMPs) face practical challenges in providing telemedicine consultations. This study aims to explore CMPs\' experience and perceptions of telemedicine service provision before and during the pandemic. Methods: A territory-wide cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Hong Kong between April and May 2022. A structured questionnaire with open-ended questions was used to investigate the provision of and perception on telemedicine service, as well as usability of telemedicine among CMPs. Results: A total of 195 CMPs participated the survey. Before COVID-19, 42% (81/195) had been providing telemedicine services, and the proportion doubled during COVID-19. CMPs in the private sector are the main providers. Mobile apps including WhatsApp, WeChat, and Zoom were commonly used for consultations (75%, 120/161). Barriers in providing telemedicine included inability of conducting physical examination on patients (69%, 134/195), legal and ethical concerns over medical negligence (61%, 118/195), and patients\' incompetence on e-literacy (50%, 98/195). Respondents urged professional and regulatory bodies to provide an explicit clinical guideline that demonstrate best practice in traditional Chinese medicine telemedicine, and to clarify legal and ethical implications of such practice. Conclusions: CMPs demonstrated their competency in telemedicine, and most of them provided telemedicine during COVID-19. Development of appropriate guidelines on the provision of telemedicine would support CMPs to continue provision after the pandemic, whereas a user-friendly and comprehensive telemedicine e-platform would enhance quality of such service. Facilitating patients with lower e-literacy to access telemedicine is key to reduce disparities.
摘要：
目标：远程医疗在COVID-19大流行期间得到了广泛的应用。在其他医疗保健专业人员中，中医（CMP）在提供远程医疗咨询方面面临着实际挑战。这项研究旨在探索在大流行之前和期间提供远程医疗服务的经验和看法。方法：2022年4月至5月在香港进行了一项全港性横断面在线调查。使用带有开放式问题的结构化问卷来调查远程医疗服务的提供和看法，以及远程医疗在CMP中的可用性。结果：共有195名CMPs参与调查。在COVID-19之前，42%(81/195)一直在提供远程医疗服务，在COVID-19期间，这一比例翻了一番。私营部门的CMP是主要提供者。包括WhatsApp在内的移动应用程序，微信,和变焦通常用于咨询(75%，120/161)。提供远程医疗的障碍包括无法对患者进行体检(69%，134/195），对医疗过失的法律和道德关注(61%，118/195），和患者对电子识字能力不足(50%，98/195)。受访者呼吁专业及监管机构提供明确的临床指引,展示中医远程医疗的最佳实践,并澄清这种做法的法律和道德含义。结论：CMP证明了他们在远程医疗方面的能力，他们中的大多数在COVID-19期间提供远程医疗。制定有关提供远程医疗的适当准则将支持CMPs在大流行后继续提供，而用户友好和全面的远程医疗电子平台将提高此类服务的质量。促进电子素养较低的患者获得远程医疗是缩小差距的关键。
