{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,3]],"date-time":"2026-06-03T10:37:14Z","timestamp":1780483034509,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,17]],"date-time":"2024-12-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1734393600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This retrospective, descriptive study, conducted in 2024, analysed Virtual Care Survey (2020\u20132022) data of patients\u2019 self-reported reflections on use and experiences to investigate relationships between demographics, the number of chronic conditions, and virtual care use among older rural patients (\u226565 years with at least one chronic condition) living in New South Wales, and their satisfaction with virtual care. Associations between categorical variables were assessed using chi-squared tests, and Kruskal\u2013Wallis tests were used for continuous variables. Qualitative feedback was analysed thematically. The study included 264 patients (median age 74 years; 51.1% women). Most virtual care appointments (65.3%) were for consultations, check-ups, or review of test results. Over one-third (38.3%) of the patients had multimorbidity and were 1.8 times more likely to have five or more virtual care appointments compared to the patients with one chronic condition. The oldest age group (\u226580 years) preferred telephone over online mediums (Skype or Zoom) (p &lt; 0.05). Patient satisfaction was high (65.8%), with 60.9% finding virtual care comparable to in-person consultations. Technological issues correlated with more negative experiences (p &lt; 0.05). Key themes were enhanced accessibility and convenience, quality and safety of virtual care, and recommendations for equitable access. Despite positive responses, addressing technological complexities is important for optimising virtual care models for older rural Australians with chronic conditions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph21121678","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,17]],"date-time":"2024-12-17T05:26:02Z","timestamp":1734413162000},"page":"1678","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Virtual Care Appointments and Experience Among Older Rural Patients with Chronic Conditions in New South Wales: An Analysis of Existing Survey Data"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Eloise A. B.","family":"Price","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6027-1564","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammad","family":"Hamiduzzaman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Centre for Rural Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vanette","family":"McLennan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Centre for Rural Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christopher","family":"Williams","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Centre for Rural Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5310-7221","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Victoria","family":"Flood","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Centre for Rural Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, S., Liu, Y., Lam, J., and Gao, Z. 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