Telemedicine, the delivery of health care services via technology, has been in use since the 1950s. Since then, the development of telemedicine technologies has increased exponentially, with research supporting the effectiveness and satisfaction of the technology but also noting key barriers for full utilization. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a massive increase in dependence on telemedicine, which highlighted the need for a thorough examination of the provider-patient interaction within a mediated environment. Past telemedicine research has considered this interaction from the patient's perspective. However, the interpersonal aspects of the technology-mediated interaction from the provider's perspective have not been fully considered. In particular, the provider's perspective of the effectiveness of the social support they can provide to patients via telemedicine has not been explored. Social support is a key factor in provider-patient interactions and has been associated with positive health outcomes for patients. The objective of this study is to characterize health care providers’ perceptions of providing social support to patients during a telemedicine clinical visit. Using a qualitative approach, this study explored the technology features and affordances of telemedicine technology that may influence social support within provider-patient interactions from the perspective of medical providers. Findings indicate that technology features such as video, screen share, and chat trigger affordances such as synchronicity, reciprocity, and movability. The features and affordances of telemedicine have both positive and negative impacts on presence and social support.
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