Evaluating physicians' knowledge, attitudes, skills and barriers regarding telemedicine in Fayoum governorate, Egypt : a cross-sectional descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine, characterized as the provision of healthcare services remotely, has the potential to enhance clinical management, expand service accessibility, strengthen communication among care team members, and improve the coordination of patient care. OBJECTIVES: Assess the knowledge, attitude, skills, and perceived barriers to telemedicine within medical professionals in the Fayoum Governorate. METHODOLOGY: It is a descriptive cross-sectional study performed using an online Google Form and face to face interview questionnaire. A total of 305 healthcare professionals took part in this study. RESULT: The mean knowledge level of our participants was 65%. The most reported barrier to telemedicine adoption was a lack of qualified personnel, cited by 91.5% of respondents. About 50% of the physicians use telemedicine daily, weekly, or monthly. Despite limited formal training (7.9%), most HCWs had basic technical skills, and comfort levels were generally neutral or low. Higher education and experience were substantial predictors of good understanding, while age and education level were key predictors of an appropriate attitude. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that physicians had a positive attitude towards telemedicine and showed good knowledge. Although they were highly aware of TM, the rate of TM utilization by physicians was less than satisfactory. The government must establish the necessary infrastructure and regulations to enable the implementation of telemedicine.