Validation of PET Questionnaire for Experience and Sustainability in Telemedicine. PET(Patient Experience in Telehealth) (PET)

Assessment of Patient Experience in Telemedicine: Validation of the Co-designed "Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET)" Questionnaire to Measure Experience and Assess Environmental, Economic and Organizational Impact.

Background: Telemedicine adoption has expanded rapidly in recent years, creating new opportunities for access to care, particularly for frail patients or those with mobility limitations. However, the large-scale deployment of remote healthcare services has highlighted the lack of validated instruments to systematically and multidimensionally assess patients' subjective experience. Patient experience is recognized as a key indicator of quality of care, with direct implications for treatment adherence, appropriate use of digital health technologies, and the effectiveness of organizational care models.

Rationale: No instruments have been specifically validated in Italy to measure patient experience in telemedicine. In response, the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli - Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (FPG IRCCS) developed, through a co-design process involving expert patients and healthcare professionals, the Patient Experience in Telehealth questionnaire (PET). The tool was designed to capture not only overall satisfaction, but also relational, informational, and organizational domains, as well as perceived economic and environmental impact.

Objectives: The primary objective is psychometric validation of PET, assessing reliability and validity (construct, convergent, and discriminant). Secondary objectives include evaluating the perceived impact of telemedicine on care organization, patient-borne costs, and the environment, and exploring differences according to sociodemographic variables.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study will administer PET to at least 200 adult patients who received one or more telemedicine services at FPG IRCCS within the preceding three months. Content validity will be assessed by an expert panel. Descriptive analyses, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and reliability testing will be performed. A subgroup will complete a test-retest assessment after 7-14 days.

Hypothesis: PET is expected to demonstrate satisfactory psychometric properties, discriminate across different levels of patient experience, and capture the perceived organizational, economic, and environmental impacts of telemedicine in healthcare delivery.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: IBD; Arrythmia; Radiation Therapy Complication
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET) - questionnaire

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 200

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Giuseppe Vetrugno; Phone Number: +390630154987; Email: giuseppe.vetrugno@policlinicogemelli.it
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Angela Iula; Phone Number: +390630154589; Email: angela.iula@policlinicogemelli.it

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population will consist of adult patients (≥18 years) who have received at least one telemedicine healthcare service at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS (FPG IRCCS) across one or more specialist clinical areas. Participants will be consecutively recruited during the predefined data-collection period from among patients who received telemedicine services in the three months preceding study initiation, ensuring a heterogeneous sample with respect to age, sex, clinical condition, and level of digital familiarity.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥18 years
• Receipt of at least one telemedicine service at FPG IRCCS
• Provision of informed consent to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Cognitive or linguistic difficulties preventing comprehension of the questionnaire, in the absence of an available caregiver to provide assistance.
• Exclusive use of telemonitoring services or asynchronous reporting, as the survey focuses on synchronous interactions (e.g., video consultation).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Construct validity of the Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET) questionnaire	Construct validity of the PET questionnaire assessed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.	1 month
Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET) questionnaire	Reliability of the PET questionnaire assessed by internal consistency and temporal stability.	1 month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall satisfaction score measured by the Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET) questionnaire	Overall satisfaction with telemedicine services measured using a numeric rating scale included in the PET questionnaire. Score 0-10 (minimum 0, maximum 10)	1 month
Accessibility score measured by the Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET) questionnaire	Perceived accessibility of telemedicine services. Mean Likert-scale score (1-5)	1 month
Usability score measured by the Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET) questionnaire	Perceived ease of use of telemedicine technology. Mean Likert-scale score (1-5)	1 month
Perceived effectiveness score measured by the Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET) questionnaire	Perceived clinical effectiveness of telemedicine healthcare services. Mean Likert-scale score (1-5)	1 month
Organizational impact score measured by the Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET) questionnaire	Perceived impact on waiting times, care pathway simplification, and continuity of care. Mean Likert-scale score (1-5)	1 month
Patient-reported economic impact measured by the Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET) questionnaire	Perceived reduction in patient-borne costs, including travel expenses and avoided work leave. Likert-scale score (1-5) and self-reported avoided costs (€)	1 month
Patient-reported environmental impact measured by the Patient Experience in Telehealth (PET) questionnaire.	Perceived reduction in travel and associated environmental impact. Likert-scale score (1-5) and avoided travel distance (kilometers)	1 month
Association between PET domain scores and sociodemographic and clinical variables	Association between patient experience dimensions and participant characteristics, including age, educational level, and digital familiarity. Correlation coefficients and group comparisons	1 month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Giuseppe Vetrugno, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): February 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 16, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 29, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): February 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 6, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 29, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Heart Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Health Services Administration; Delivery of Health Care; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Investigative Techniques; Epidemiologic Methods; Data Collection; Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms; Quality of Health Care; Public Health; Environment and Public Health; Patient Care Management; Surveys and Questionnaires; Telemedicine; 2-phenyl-6-(2'-(4'-(ethoxycarbonyl)thiazolyl))thiazolo(3,2-b)(1,2,4)triazole
• Other Study ID Numbers: 8198

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No