Gap between patients’ expectation and perception regarding telemedicine: a single-center cross-sectional study from Bangladesh

Background Quality of service from the patients' perspective is a crucial component for acceptance and sustainability of healthcare services like telemedicine. The objective of the present study was to determine the gap between patients' expectation and perception regarding telemedicine service in context of Bangladesh. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among a number of 476 patients who took telemedicine service from a leading company of Bangladesh. Service quality was assessed using the SERVQUAL questionnaire where quality gap was calculated from the perception and expectation of the patients regarding telemedicine service. An independent t -test or ANOVA was used to determine the difference of service gap among different participant groups. Results Of the 476 participants interviewed, 58% were male with a mean age of 31.4 (SD 10.4) years. A negative quality gap was observed in all five domains of SERVQUAL including tangibility (mean −1.23, SD 0.74), empathy (mean −0.71, SD 0.53), reliability (mean −0.65, SD 0.54), responsiveness (mean −0.63, SD 0.54) and assurance (mean −0.49, SD 0.49). Male gender (p-value 0.002), low family income (p-value <0.001) and frequent use of telemedicine (p-value 0.029) were significantly associated with higher quality gap between expectation and perception of the patients regarding telemedicine service. Conclusion Our study highlighted significant quality gaps in telemedicine services across all SERVQUAL domains, particularly in tangibility and empathy. Addressing these gaps requires improvements in the usability of telemedicine platforms, such as user interface enhancements and training providers in empathetic communication. Additionally, targeted efforts to reduce disparities among demographic groups, including males and low-income patients, are crucial for making telemedicine more equitable and effective in resource-constrained settings like Bangladesh.