## 4 Discussion
[PERSON] et al., through interviewing 129 patients at Akron Children's Hospital Paediatric Surgery and Gastrointestinal Clinic, reported that 115 (89.2%) participants were amenable to telemedicine for routine follow-up visits [21]. Furthermore, [PERSON] et al., through evaluating the opinions of 100 patients, emphasized that almost two-thirds of patients thought tele(oral)medicine made it easier to achieve their medical care, and 84.7% were very satisfied with their telehealth session [22]. Tele(oral)medicine is perceived by patients as a possible means to save time that would otherwise be lost during a medical visit. This explains the statistical association found in our study between the interest in using tele(oral)medicine and the questions investigating the distance of our ambulatory from home (Q8. What is the impact of the home-hospital distance for you? Q23 correlated to Q8 with a \(p\) value = 0.041), the average waiting time before the visit (Q10. What is the average waiting-time before your visit? ; Q22-Q23 both correlated to Q10 with \(p\) values of 0.017 and 0.011 respectively) and the possibility of paying the visit through the web (Q18. What is your level of interest in paying the visit through web? Q22-Q23 correlated to Q18 with a \(p\) value = 0.000 in both cases). In our study, the average time taken to reach our ambulatory by the interviewed sample was 65.0 \(\pm\) 52.9 min, while the average waiting time before a visit was 81.3 \(\pm\) 52.1 min. Telemedicine can significantly decrease travel time and waiting room time compared with in-person visits. The payment for the visit represents a necessary procedure for the reception of medical practice. The time required for such procedures can be considered as part of the total waiting time the patient undergoes before the visit. The waiting time before the visit constitutes an important factor in the evaluation of the quality of outpatient services [23]. Through the analysis of 11,352 surveys, [PERSON] et al. evaluated patients' perceptions regarding waiting time before a scheduled appointment and reported that waiting time is perceived to be not only the main cause of patient dissatisfaction, but also a determinant of care quality [24]. In addition, according to [PERSON] et al., TM represents a growing opportunity to reduce patient waiting time [25]. Therefore, the opportunity to take payment for the visit through the web and the possibility of performing a digital reception of the patient preceding the visit represents a possible means to further reduce the waiting time before a visit and to achieve a higher quality of care. The correlation between Q8 and Q23 also illustrates that not needing to move from home is identified as the greatest advantage of Tele(oral)medicine. The world digitalization will increase the demand for these services by patients. [PERSON] et al. interviewed 1003 participants to evaluate their knowledge about eHealth, stating that 79.4% of the studied sample had the possibility of accessing the internet [26]. This result is lower than the level of digitalization of our sample: 80 (95.2%) patients claimed to own a computer or a smartphone connected to the internet. The possession of \(\Pi\) devices and digital skills constitutes a fundamental prerequisite for the use of telemedicine. This explains the statistical association found between these factors and the interest of patients in the use of oral telemedicine systems. Specifically, both Q22 and Q23 showed a statistically significant correlation with Q13 (do you have access to an IT device? ), with a \(p\) value = 0.023 in both cases. Furthermore, Q22 and Q23 also showed a correlation with Q14 (what is your level of ability in the use of IT devices? ), with \(p\) values of 0.001 and 0.025, respectively. The need to independently take photographs of the inside of one's oral cavity would constitute a limiting factor for the patients interviewed. Q22 and Q23 showed a statistically significant correlation with Q16 (what is your level of difficulty in taking intraoral photos?)