Evaluation of satisfaction of parents with the use of videoconferencing for a pediatric genetic consultation

Telegenetics is a new development in the service delivery of Genetic Services in Australia. This project was designed to establish if it was an acceptable alternative to a face-to-face consultation in the genetic assessment of intellectual disability, including morphological assessment, of the patient. Ten children from two outreach clinics in rural NSW who were referred by their pediatrician were assessed by a single geneticist via telehealth and then seen again face-to-face as a 'gold standard'. Satisfaction surveys were then sent to both the parents and the referring pediatricians. After the face-to-face appointment, the clinical geneticist reviewed the recordings of both the transmitted footage and the high definition footage that was sent separately. There were very few morphological findings missed by the telegenetic assessments. The discrepancies that were noted could decrease in frequency as staff become more familiar with the methods. The parents of the patients reported no problem with the cameras and telehealth. They would have preferred face-to-face appointment but would be happy to have the telehealth appointment if it meant being seen earlier. This pilot study suggests that clinical genetic diagnostic assessment could be performed by telemedicine.