"Giving the patients less work": A thematic analysis of telehealth use and recommendations to improve usability for autistic adults.

Researchers talked to autistic adults, their families, and clinic staff about using video doctor visits. They found that setting up these visits took many phone calls over several days, which was difficult. Having computer skills and knowing how to use the clinic's website helped. When technology problems happened, it made people anxious. Staff suggested using fewer phone calls and providing videos showing how to use the system, reminders, and letting people know how long they might wait.

This qualitative study explored telehealth experiences among 7 autistic adults, 12 family members, and 6 clinic staff through interviews. Researchers found that setting up virtual visits required multiple phone or online contacts over several days, creating barriers for autistic users. Technology experience and familiarity with patient portals facilitated virtual visit use, while technical issues increased anxiety. Clinic staff reported challenges managing both virtual and in-person patients simultaneously.

Participants recommended reducing required contacts by utilizing patient portals, providing reminder messages, instruction videos, and approximate wait times to improve the telehealth experience for autistic adults and their families.

Healthcare providers should streamline telehealth setup processes, reduce required contacts, and provide comprehensive technical support. Implementing instruction videos, reminder systems, and clear wait-time communication may improve telehealth accessibility for autistic adults and reduce pre-visit anxiety.

Small sample from single clinic limits generalizability. Qualitative design provides insights but cannot establish causal relationships. No comparison with non-autistic populations. Sample characteristics not fully detailed in abstract.

Real-time telehealth visits, called "virtual visits," are live video chats between patients and healthcare professionals. There are lots of steps involved in setting up a virtual visit, which may be difficult for some autistic adults. We interviewed 7 autistic adults, 12 family members of autistic adults, and 6 clinic staff from one clinic in the United States. Our goal was to understand their experiences with virtual visits and see how we can make virtual visits easier to use.

We re-read text from the interviews to organize experiences and advice that was shared into topics. We found that autistic adults (or their family members) had to connect with clinic staff many times by phone or online over several days to set up a virtual visit. Participants said that having more experience with technology and using the online patient portal made virtual visits easier to use. But, having issues with technology before the visit could make autistic adults and family members anxious.

Clinic staff said it was hard for them to meet the needs of people who were using virtual visits and those who were being seen in person at the clinic. Participants recommended reducing the number of calls between staff and autistic adults or family members using the online patient portal instead. Participants also recommended reminder messages, instruction videos, and approximate wait-times to help autistic adults and family members know what to expect for the virtual visit. Our results are based on peoples' experiences at one clinic, but could help other clinics make virtual visits easier to use for autistic adults and their family members.