Abstract
In 2014, in the United Kingdom, the government made a commitment to spend £3.6 million on the introduction of Skype video calling consultations in general practice, however the efficacy of such technology has not yet been explored fully.AimThe study aimed to explore the views and attitudes of General Practitioners (GPs) towards video consultation in primary care; specifically, in three broad areas ∙The benefits of video consultations to patients and healthcare professionals.∙Potential problems with video consultation and its implementation.∙The cost-effectiveness of video consultation in this setting. A convenience sample of the views of 12 general practitioners across two primary care centres in North London were identified using topic guide based semi-structured interviews. A thematic framework approach was used to analyse the data collected to isolate main and sub-themes.FindingsThree main themes were identified 1.Technology - GPs expressed concerns about the ability of patients to use technology, the availability of technology and the quality of technology available.2.Utility - encompassing GP's ideas about the usefulness of video consultations to patients, practitioners and the doctor-patient relationship. GPs presented mixed views on the extent to which video consultation would be useful.3.Practicality - covering the views of GPs on implementation and effects on workload. GPs unanimously felt that it was not a practical substitute for face-to-face consultation. There were mixed feelings about it being used as an alternative to telephone consultation. GPs did see potential benefits to using video consultations but also expressed concerns that need to be addressed if they are to have full confidence in the system. The views of those who are going to use video consultation as a means of increasing patient access are paramount if such tools are to be a core part of primary care.
Highlights
With the advent of better communication modalities in the 21st century, there is growing emphasis on how best clinicians and patients can interact in quick and efficient ways while maintaining safety and overall governance
The results suggested doctors employing video consultation made a greater number of correct treatment decisions than those that employed telephone-only consultations (98 versus 82%) (Capampangan et al, 2009)
All the participants felt that video consultation could be useful to patients
Summary
With the advent of better communication modalities in the 21st century, there is growing emphasis on how best clinicians and patients can interact in quick and efficient ways while maintaining safety and overall governance. The potential for telemedicine to improve accessibility and aid delivery of healthcare to patients has been discussed since the 1990s (McLaren and Ball, 1995; Wootton, 1998). Countries such as Australia, China and Tanzania have piloted video consultation technologies in an effort to improve accessibility to healthcare in rural areas (Hartley, 2012). Aim: The study aimed to explore the views and attitudes of General Practitioners (GPs) towards video consultation in primary care; in three broad areas: ∙ The benefits of video consultations to patients and healthcare professionals. GPs presented mixed views on the extent to which video consultation would be useful
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