Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
General practitioners' perceptions of using virtual primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international cross-sectional survey study. |
| Authors: |
Edmond Li, Rosy Tsopra, Geronimo Jimenez, Alice Serafini, Gustavo Gusso, Heidrun Lingner, Maria Jose Fernandez, Greg Irving, Davorina Petek, Robert Hoffman, Vanja Lazic, Ensieh Memarian, Tuomas Koskela, Claire Collins, Sandra Milena Espitia, Ana ClaverÃa, Katarzyna Nessler, Braden Gregory O'Neill, Kyle Hoedebecke, Mehmet Ungan, Liliana Laranjo, Saira Ghafur, Gianluca Fontana, Azeem Majeed, Josip Car, Ara Darzi, Ana Luisa Neves |
| Source: |
PLOS Digital Health, Vol 1, Iss 5, p e0000029 (2022) |
| Publisher Information: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2022. |
| Publication Year: |
2022 |
| Collection: |
LCC:Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics |
| Subject Terms: |
Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics, R858-859.7 |
| More Details: |
With the onset of COVID-19, general practitioners (GPs) and patients worldwide swiftly transitioned from face-to-face to digital remote consultations. There is a need to evaluate how this global shift has impacted patient care, healthcare providers, patient and carer experience, and health systems. We explored GPs' perspectives on the main benefits and challenges of using digital virtual care. GPs across 20 countries completed an online questionnaire between June-September 2020. GPs' perceptions of main barriers and challenges were explored using free-text questions. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. A total of 1,605 respondents participated in our survey. The benefits identified included reducing COVID-19 transmission risks, guaranteeing access and continuity of care, improved efficiency, faster access to care, improved convenience and communication with patients, greater work flexibility for providers, and hastening the digital transformation of primary care and accompanying legal frameworks. Main challenges included patients' preference for face-to-face consultations, digital exclusion, lack of physical examinations, clinical uncertainty, delays in diagnosis and treatment, overuse and misuse of digital virtual care, and unsuitability for certain types of consultations. Other challenges include the lack of formal guidance, higher workloads, remuneration issues, organisational culture, technical difficulties, implementation and financial issues, and regulatory weaknesses. At the frontline of care delivery, GPs can provide important insights on what worked well, why, and how during the pandemic. Lessons learned can be used to inform the adoption of improved virtual care solutions and support the long-term development of platforms that are more technologically robust and secure. |
| Document Type: |
article |
| File Description: |
electronic resource |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
2767-3170 |
| Relation: |
https://doaj.org/toc/2767-3170 |
| DOI: |
10.1371/journal.pdig.0000029 |
| Access URL: |
https://doaj.org/article/6cd73a5e221049f9aa85a3b2d826af54 |
| Accession Number: |
edsdoj.6cd73a5e221049f9aa85a3b2d826af54 |
| Database: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
