How optometrists are embracing Telehealth in Australia- identifying uses, attitudes, acceptance barriers and facilitators

Abstract Introduction Effective use of telehealth in eyecare is beneficial to practitioners and patients. Reports of telehealth eyecare services in Australia are largely limited to remote areas, and little is known about how telehealth is practiced by the wider Australian optometrist population. This study aims to gauge current telehealth practice, attitudes, acceptance, and perceived barriers and facilitators to telehealth adoption in optometrists practising in Australia. Identifying and understanding these factors will aid in supporting effective telehealth practice, leveraging its benefits for both practitioners and patients. Methods Australian registered optometrists were invited to participate in an online cross-sectional survey comprising of five sections: 1) Participant characteristics, 2) Current use of telehealth, 3) General attitudes towards telehealth, 4) Acceptance towards telehealth, 5) Perceived barriers and facilitators of telehealth use. Respondent demographics were summarised with descriptive statistics. A 5-point Likert scale was used for Sections 3 to 5. General linear regression was used to identify significant factors that influence telehealth attitudes. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes from text comments. Results Seventy-two surveys were completed with most respondents being females (57%, 41/72), aged 30–39 years (39%, 28/72), and in practice for 5–9 years (24%, 17/72). Most were from the state of Victoria (46%, 33/72) and worked in major city areas and surrounding suburbs (75%, 54/72) in corporate practice (42%, 30/72). Approximately 35% (25/72) of the respondents used telehealth in their clinical practice, with ‘management’ (68%, 17/25) and ‘triaging’ (60%, 15/25) being the most frequent telehealth activities. General attitudes towards telehealth were moderately positive (3.59 ± 0.79), with telehealth acceptance being more neutral (3.00 ± 0.97). Key barriers and facilitators were associated with financial concerns. No factors were found to influence optometrists’ general attitudes towards telehealth (p = 0.63). Conclusion Telehealth use is modest amongst Australian optometrists. Increased telehealth adoption can be encouraged through funding and education.