The COVID-19 pandemic forced physicians to quickly adapt and find ways to provide their\nusual offline services by using online tools. We aimed to understand how physicians adapted to\nthe sudden need for telehealth and if their perception of telehealth changed due to their experience\nduring the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an exploratory sequential mixed-methods study.\nWe interviewed five Lebanese physicians and thematically analyzed the interviews. We developed\na questionnaire based on the analysis results and administered it online to physicians in Lebanon.\nIn total, 140 responses were collected. We found that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians\nengaged in more telehealth activities in the realms of telemedicine, public awareness, continuing\nmedical education, research, administration, and teaching. They also expanded their repertoire of\ninformation-technology tools. Our results also show that there was a significant shift in the physiciansâ??\nperceptions, indicating greater openness and willingness to adopt telehealth services. However,\na significant amount of skepticism and uncertainty regarding telemedicine remains, especially\nconcerning its efficiency, safety, and the adequacy of existing regulations. Based on our findings,\nwe offer recommendations for health IT policy makers, developers, and researchers, to sustain the\ncontinuity of telehealth activities beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
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