D2.22 - Evaluating the Role of Telemedicine in Allergy Care: Patient Preferences and Experiences

The increasing prevalence of allergies, coupled with a shortage of allergy specialists, poses significant challenges in delivering timely and comprehensive care to patients with allergic diseases. Telemedicine offers an innovative solution to address these challenges by providing rapid and efficient medical care. While telemedicine is well-established in other medical fields, its application in allergy care, especially for large patient populations with diverse allergic diseases, remains underexplored. 

To evaluate patient preferences and experiences with telemedicine, we conducted a 27-question survey. We developed a novel questionnaire and handed it out to patients over 18 years old with various allergic conditions, prior to their consultations at our outpatient clinic at the Division of Allergy at the University Hospital Basel. 

In an interim analysis conducted between May 29, 2024, and September 25, 2024, 102 patients completed the questionnaire. Among the 87 participants who answered the relevant question, 78 (89.66%) viewed telemedicine as beneficial for managing common allergies, such as drug and insect venom allergies. Additionally, participants acknowledged its potential for addressing less common allergic conditions, including mastocytosis (8 participants, 9.20%) and angioedema (12 participants, 13.79%). Furthermore, of the 94 participants who responded to another question, 42 (44.68%) reported prior experience with telemedicine, with 14 (33.33%) specifically utilizing teleallergy services. 

Our interim findings indicate that allergy care by telemedicine could be valuable for managing various allergic conditions. Participants of our survey could well imagine using telemedicine for care of allergic diseases, indicating its potential for broader adoption. Ongoing data collection will provide further insights needed to refine teleallergy services for specific allergic conditions. We will particularly focus on exploring how these services can be effectively combined with in-person consultations to enhance long-term patient care.