Assessment of Knowledge, Perception and Practice of Telemedicine among Medical Doctors in Lagos State

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the level of awareness, perception, and practice of telemedicine among medical doctors in Lagos State. A pilot study was firstly conducted and also a survey was conducted among 123 medical doctors using a structured questionnaire to collect data on their awareness, utilization, Integration and barriers to the adoption of telemedicine and descriptive statistics such as means, frequencies, and percentages for analyzing the results. All respondents believed that telemedicine is being used in some healthcare facilities in Lagos State but is not widely adopted, and the lack of training or knowledge about telemedicine was identified as the most significant factor influencing the adoption of telemedicine among medical doctors in Lagos State. The results showed that most respondents heard of telemedicine through colleagues and social media, and the majority had a general idea, potential applications and understood the benefits of telemedicine for patients and healthcare providers. However, only a small percentage of respondents use telemedicine regularly 26.83% while a significant proportion use it either often (27.64%) or rarely 42.28%, and the most common use of telemedicine was for storing and forwarding electronic data such as patient history, images, or test results (59.34). The study found that most respondents had a general idea of telemedicine, potential applications, and understood its benefits for patients and healthcare providers which further suggests that there is a need for increased education, training, and investment in technology infrastructure to increase the utilization of telemedicine in healthcare delivery in Lagos State.