TY - JOUR T1 - Experiences of remote consulting for patients and neurologists during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland JF - BMJ Neurology Open JO - BMJ Neurol Open DO - 10.1136/bmjno-2021-000173 VL - 3 IS - 2 SP - e000173 AU - Maria Stavrou AU - Eva Lioutas AU - Joanna Lioutas AU - Richard J Davenport Y1 - 2021/11/01 UR - http://neurologyopen.bmj.com/content/3/2/e000173.abstract N2 - Background Remote consulting is an emerging model in managing chronic neurological conditions and has been widely implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this national survey was to investigate the initial experiences of remote consulting for neurologists and patients with established neurological conditions under follow-up during the first COVID-19 phase.Methods In collaboration with the Scottish Association of Neurological Sciences and the Neurological Alliance of Scotland, we conducted a web-based survey of neurologists and patients between October and November 2020.Findings Data was available for 62 neurologists and 201 patients. The consensus among neurologists was that remote consulting is a satisfactory way of delivering healthcare in selected groups of patients. For practical and technical reasons, there was preference for phone over video consultations (phone 63% vs video 33%, p=0.003). The prevailing opinion among clinicians was that considerable training interventions for remote consultation skills are required (‘yes’ 63% vs ‘no’ 37%, p=0.009) to improve clinician consultation skills and successfully embed this new model of care.Most patients perceived remote consultations as safe, effective and convenient, with 89% of patients being satisfied with their remote consultation experience. Although traditional face-to-face consultations were the favoured way of interaction for 62% of patients, a significant proportion preferred that some of their future consultations be remote.Interpretation Although not a replacement for face-to-face consultations, this survey illustrates that remote consulting can be an acceptable adjunct to traditional face-to-face consultations for doctors and patients. More research is required to identify overall safety and applicability.All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information. ER -