Remote and digital services in UK general practice 2021-2023: the Remote by Default 2 longitudinal qualitative study synopsis.

United Kingdom general practices transitioned rapidly to remote-by-default services in 2020 and subsequently considered whether and how to continue these practices. Their diverse responses provided a unique opportunity to study the longer-term embedding, adaptation and abandonment of digital innovations. Research questions: What was the range of responses to the expansion of remote and digital triage and consultations among United Kingdom general practices in the period following the acute phase of the coronavirus disease discovered in 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic? What can we learn from this example about the long-term impacts of crisis-driven sociotechnical change in healthcare settings? We collected longitudinal data from 12 general practices from 2021 to 2023, comprising 500 hours of ethnographic observation, 163 interviews in participating practices and linked organisations (132 staff, 31 patients), 39 stakeholder interviews and 4 multi-stakeholder workshops (210 participants), with additional patient and public involvement input. Data were de-identified, uploaded to NVivo (QSR International, Warrington, UK) and synthesised into case studies, drawing on theories of organisational innovation. General practices' longitudinal progress varied, from a near-total return to traditional in-person services to extensive continuing use of novel digital technologies and pathways. Their efforts to find the right balance were shaped and constrained by numerous contextual factors. Large size, slack resources, high absorptive capacity, strong leadership and good intrapractice relationships favoured innovation. Readiness for remote and digital modalities varied depending on local tension for change, practice values and patient characteristics. Technologies' uptake and use were influenced by their material properties and functionality. Embedding and sustaining technologies required ongoing work to adapt and refine tasks and processes and adjust (or, where appropriate, selectively abandon) technologies. Adoption and embedding of technologies were affected by various staff and patient factors. When technologies fitted poorly with tasks and routines or when embedding efforts were unsuccessful, inefficiencies and 'techno-stress' resulted, with compromises to patient access and quality of care. Sampling frame was limited to United Kingdom and patient interviews were relatively sparse. There is wide variation in digital maturity among United Kingdom general practices. Low use of remote and digital technologies and processes may be warranted and reflect local strategic choices, but it may also indicate lack of awareness and a reactive rather than strategic approach to digital innovation. We offer an updated typology of digital maturity in general practice with suggestions for tailored support. The typology of digital maturity could be applied further to identify in more detail the kind of support needed for practices that are at different stages of maturity and are serving different populations. The need for strategically traditional practices in deprived settings should also be explored. This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme as award number NIHR132807.

Psykiatrisia avohoidon palveluita on digitalisoitu aktiivisesti jo ennen koronavirusepidemiaa, mutta varsinkin epidemian käynnistymisen jälkeen etäasioinnin merkitys on kasvanut. Tämän poikkileikkaustutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, kuinka koronaepidemia on vaikuttanut psykiatristen avohoitokäyntien toteutusmuotoon ja kuvailla psykiatristen erikoissairaanhoidon palveluiden johtajien kokemuksia etäasioimisesta. Tutkimuksen tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää psykiatristen avohoitopalveluiden arvioinnissa sekä kehittämisessä sekä jatkotutkimuksessa.
 Kyselyaineisto kerättiin osana COVID-19 tilannekuvaseurantaa sähköisellä kyselylomakkeella koronaepidemian käynnistymisen jälkeen toukokuussa 2020. Kyselyssä oli sekä strukturoituja että avoimia kysymyksiä. Kyselyyn vastasi 39 aikuispsykiatrian, nuorisopsykiatrian ja lasten psykiatrian toimialojen esimiestä ja johtajaa 19 eri sairaanhoitopiiristä. Kvantitatiiviset kysymykset avohoitokäyntien toteutusmuotojen määrästä raportoitiin prosenttiosuuksina ja avointen kysymysten vastaukset analysointiin induktiivisella sisällönanalyysillä.
 Tulosten perusteella etäasioinnin suhteellinen osuus kaikista asiointitavoista kasvoi voimakkaasti koronaepidemian käynnistymisen jälkeen. Psykiatrisista avohoitokäynneistä toteutettiin puhelimitse tai etäyhteydellä tammikuussa 9% ja toukokuussa 48% (39 prosenttiyksikön kasvu). Etäasiointia haastoivat välineiden riittämättömyys ja toimimattomat ohjelmat, asiakkaiden puuttuvat laitteet, yhteydet ja tilat, etäasioinnin soveltumattomuus kaikkeen toimintaan, ammattihenkilöiden ja asiakkaiden negatiivinen asennoituminen, riittämätön osaaminen etäasioinnin käyttöön ja organisatoriset ongelmat. Etäasiointia edistivät asiakkaiden ja ammattihenkilöiden myönteinen asenne ja ilmapiiri, koronaepidemian aiheuttama tarve etäasioinnille, etäasioinnin soveltuvuus ja tuttuus psykiatrisissa avohoitopalveluissa, asiakkaiden aikaisempi tuntemus, pitkät välimatkat, toimivat etäverkostot ja ajansäästö, toimiva tekniikka, ohjelmistot ja välineet sekä riittävä tuki.
 Etäasiointi on mahdollistanut epidemiatilanteessa psykiatristen avohoitopalveluiden tarjoamisen niille asiakkaille, joille etäasiointi soveltuu ja jotka kykenevät etäasiointiin. Etäasioinnin merkitys koronaepidemian aikana on ollut tärkeä, mutta etäasioinnin lisäksi on tärkeää innovoida ratkaisuja, kuinka psykiatrisia avohoitopalveluita voitaisiin toteuttaa niille asiakkaille, joille etäasiointi ei syystä tai toisesta sovellu.

In addressing the relevancy of education for the 21st-century context, Zimbabwe had to establish a curriculum where learners develop an understanding of a new set of competences which goes beyond basic knowledge and skills. Today’s citizens require a new set of competences and conceptual understanding of complex concepts, need to develop communication skills and collaborate creatively to produce new ideas, new products and new knowledge, while developing a critical mind in order to face the challenging world. Inquiry-based science education becomes the basis for incorporation of this new set of competencies in Zimbabwean schools. The Zimbabwe science curriculum stipulates that inquiry skills are learned through practical work where learners apply and hence understand scientific concepts. As such, learners should employ scientific skills in solving real-life problems. This chapter aims to determine the nature and level of inquiry-based science education in Zimbabwean schools. The chapter describes inquiry-based practices that are encapsulated in the Zimbabwean science curriculum; analyses the relationship between the prescribed curriculum inquiry-based practices and the examination frameworks; evaluates the extent of learner preparation and performance in practical assessments; discusses teacher professional development for implementing inquiry-based science teaching; explores the use of technology in the teaching of practical work; and identifies challenges and problems in the implementation of inquiry-based practices. Finally, implications and recommendations are made for teacher professional development in scientific inquiry-based teaching.

Introduction: The ongoing care of transgender patients in United Kingdom (UK) general practice (GP) is hampered by a lack of UK primary care guidelines regarding the monitoring of treatments, despite the key role that general practice has in holistic lifelong care. This quality improvement project aimed to audit the monitoring of treatments and health screening in a GP practice population, across two large practices in southwest England, in order to drive local improvement and to identify gaps in wider healthcare support for this population. Methods: This project updated a previously published audit instrument, incorporating a novel, pragmatic standard, based on up-to-date UK gender clinic guidelines and the UK population screening programmes. National Health Service (NHS) Health Research Authority and Medical Research Council processes were used to confirm that this quality improvement project did not require formal ethics committee approval. An audit against this standard was performed for 176 transgender and gender-minority patients, to provide data on the consistency of the monitoring of gender hormonal treatments and reminders for appropriate population health screening programmes. Results: A total of 16% of those undergoing hormonal treatments had received optimal monitoring; 20% were missing the most basic hormone level monitoring. Reminders regarding appropriate health screening were rare in patients who had changed the gender markers on their electronic record. Long waiting lists, the use of private clinics, confusion around responsibilities shared between primary and secondary care and growing complex co-morbidity were demonstrated. Conclusions: This project supports previous calls for consistent evidence-based guidelines, improved data systems and adequately resourced primary and secondary care services to support the safe and effective lifelong care of transgender patients.

ObjectiveDigital services in primary care are becoming more common, yet access to and use of services can create inequities. Our aim was to explore the drivers, priorities, and evolving policy context influencing digital facilitation in primary care as reported by national, regional and local level stakeholders in England.MethodsWe conducted online semi-structured qualitative interviews with stakeholders, including those in NHS England organisations, local commissioners for health care, statutory and third sector organisations, those working within the research community, and digital platform providers. Interviews were analysed using a thematic approach.ResultsThe majority of stakeholders worked in national level roles, in commissioning or statutory and third sector organisations working in relation to digital inclusion and patient access. Demographic inequalities, poor usability of digital primary care services, and low digital skills were perceived to comprise some of the barriers facing patients in accessing and using digital primary care services. Demand pressures in general practice, inconsistent training opportunities in digital services for staff, and conflicting perceptions around who should be responsible in organising digital facilitation were reported as barriers in the organisation and provision of digital facilitation in primary care. Stakeholders shared future visions for digital primary care and recommended focusing on establishing the concept of digital facilitation and promoting the benefits in its adoption.ConclusionsPolicy that is specific to digital facilitation and not just to digital services is required to establish clear lines of responsibility, investment in staff time and training, and the development of digital services that work well for various groups of patients and practice staff. A multi-organisational working team involving decision-makers and those working on the ground in general practice is encouraged to establish principles for supporting patients and staff in accessing and using digital primary care services in the NHS in England.

Особливості та критерії оцінювання управлінських послуг залежно від типу транзакції

Despite growing positive evidence supporting the potential utility of differential diagnostic generator (DDX) tools, uptake has been limited in terms of geography and settings and calls have been made to test such tools in wider routine clinical settings. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and utility of clinical use of Isabel, an electronic DDX tool, in a United Kingdom (UK) general practice setting. Mixed methods. Feasibility and utility were assessed prospectively over a 6-month period via: usage statistics, survey as well as interview data generated from clinicians before and after Isabel was available for clinical use. Normalisation process theory (NPT) was utilised as a sensitising concept in the data collection and analysis of the qualitative data. Usage was extremely limited (n = 18 searches). Most potential users did not utilise the program and of those that did (n = 6), usage was restricted and did not alter subsequent patient management. Baseline interview findings indicated some prior awareness of DDX tools and ambivalent views with regards to potential utility. Post-use interviews supported analytic data and indicated low usage due to a range of endogenous (professional) and exogenous (organisational) factors. In its current form, this small exploratory study suggests that Isabel is a tool that is unlikely to be utilised on a routine basis in primary care, but may have potential utility for diagnostic support in (1) education/training and (2) rare and diagnostically complex cases.

Introduction: The current ethos within the United Kingdom (UK) health system is to encourage community management of health problems, increasing primary care workload. Yet General Practice (GP) is currently in ‘crisis’ with significant workload pressures. GP Federations have been developed to allow more collaborative working between GP practices and help develop new innovative models of care to better manage the GP workload pressures. Musculoskeletal(MSK) conditions constitute approximately 20% of General Practice(GP) consultations and therefore the Belfast GP Federation aimed to assess the demand for MSK conditions to allow development of new primary care-based treatment pathways for these conditions. The aim of this paper is therefore to assess the demand for orthopaedic, rheumatology and chronic MSK painful conditions by assessing the referrals from 2 GP practices and the referrals to one orthopaedic Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment services (ICATs) clinic for these conditions and then propose innovative models of care to manage this demand within the community. Methods: Secondary care referral rates for two urban GP surgeries in the Belfast area were assessed in April, 2016 to orthopaedics, rheumatology and chronic pain clinics. The referrals to an orthopaedic ICATs clinics, staffed by one GPwSI in MSK, in May 2016 were also reviewed. The orthopaedic ICATs team receive referrals from GPs regarding musculoskeletal conditions and this particular service is based in the Southern Trust area of Northern Ireland. Results: Overall from the 2 GP surgeries there was 59 orthopaedic referrals, 11 to rheumatology and 3 to the chronic pain clinic. The commonest joint referred to the orthopaedic clinic was knee (15 referrals, 25.4%) and the commonest reason to refer to rheumatology was to exclude an inflammatory arthritis (6 referrals, 54.5%). There was then 25 referrals to ICATs, with the commonest reason for referral being neck (6 referrals, 24%) and back (4 referrals, 16%). The commonest treatment options employed within the ICAT service included joint injections (8 patients, 32%) with referral to in-house physiotherapy (8 patients, 32%). Conclusions: UK GP is currently under significant workload pressures and musculoskeletal conditions, including orthopaedic, rheumatology and chronic painful conditions, make up a significant proportion of this workload. The main musculoskeletal areas which GPs are referring to secondary care include knee and spinal conditions. To help better manage this workload within primary care we propose developing a new community-based monthly musculoskeletal clinic based within local GP surgeries, supported by a MSK educational programme open to all GPs in the area. Outcomes which will be monitored from this quality improvement work will include secondary care referrals and maintaining high patient satisfaction as well as improving GP confidence in managing MSK conditions.

BackgroundNew interventions are required to increase the number of people donating their organs after death. In the United States of America (USA), general practice has proved to be a successful location to increase organ donor registration. However, a dearth of research exists examining this in the United Kingdom (UK). due to the unique challenges presented by the National Health Service (NHS). This protocol outlines a feasibility study to assess whether UK general practice is a feasible and acceptable location for organ donation intervention targeting NHS Organ Donor Register (NHS ODR) membership.MethodsThe primary intervention element, prompted choice, requires general practice to ask patients in consultations if they wish to join the NHS ODR. Two additional intervention techniques will be used to support prompted choice: staff training and leaflets and posters. The intervention will run for 3 months (April–July 2018) followed by a period of data collection. The following methods will be used to assess feasibility, acceptability and fidelity: registration data, a training evaluation survey, focus groups with staff and online surveys for staff and patients.DiscussionBy examining the feasibility, acceptability and fidelity of a prompted choice intervention in UK general practice, important knowledge can be gathered on whether it is a suitable location to conduct this. Additional learning can also be gained generally for implementing interventions in general practice. This could contribute to the knowledge base concerning the feasibility of NHS general practice to host interventions.Trial registrationInternational Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number ISRTN44530504 (Jones et al, General practice organ donation intervention: a feasibility study ISRCTN44530504, 2017) Registration on 26 September 2017.

BackgroundAgainst the background of the recruitment crisis in general practice, we aimed to determine what United Kingdom (UK) medical students value in their future careers, how they perceive careers in general practice (GP) and what influences them.MethodsCross-sectional survey of 280 final and penultimate year medical students at the University of Oxford, with questions relating to career choices, factors of importance when choosing a career and attitudes towards general practice as a career. Quantitative methods included cluster analysis, chi squared tests of independence and logistic regression analysis. Qualitative data were analysed thematically using the Framework method.ResultsResponse rate was 89% (280/315). 40% of participants said that general practice was an attractive or very attractive career option. Respondents valued job satisfaction, work-life balance and close relationships with patients. However, fewer than 20% of respondents agreed that community-based working was important to them and many (often citing particular GPs they had observed) felt that general practice as currently structured may not be satisfying or fulfilling because of high workload, financial pressures and externally imposed directives. 63% perceived GPs to have lower status than hospital specialties and 49% thought the overall culture of their medical school had negatively influenced their views towards general practice. Some respondents considered that general practice would not be intellectually challenging or compatible with a research career; some appeared to have had limited exposure to academic primary care.ConclusionsWith the caveat that this was a sample from a single medical school, medical students may be put off careers in general practice by three main things: low perceived value of community-based working and low status of general practice (linked to a prevailing medical school culture); observing the pressures under which GPs currently work; and lack of exposure to academic role models and primary care-based research opportunities. To improve recruitment of the next generation of GPs, medical schools must provide high quality placements in general practice, expose students to academic role models and highlight to policymakers the links between the current pressures in UK general practice and the recruitment crisis.

Many organisations are agile in their growth plans and scale up their operations to achieve exponential growth. The most valuable asset in today’s and tomorrow’s economy is human capital, and organisations invest in reskilling and upskilling their workforce. Automation at work, combined with the global economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic situation has lead the workforce to lose their jobs at an accelerated pace, and the trend is expected to continue. The ongoing shift in the division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms might displace almost 85 million jobs worldwide in the next 5 years, as per the World Economic Forum (WEF). The world of work is changing with a multi-generational workforce and changing employment models with more flexibility. The location is no more a constraint to acquire capable talent. The gig economy is booming, and today’s workers prefer to adopt the gig model, and employers are increasingly preferring gig workers to the permanent workforce and preferring skills and competencies over formal qualifications. A location-independent global workforce is also emerging, and the talent becomes more fungible across all the domains. As the labour market will be highly competitive in a few years, there is a need for employers to prepare their existing workforce for future-readiness. They need to upskill them with a new set of competencies. This study describes the initiative of a larger organisation that has identified a new set of competencies and set up an Academy of Future Skills to make their workforce future ready.

PurposeEmerging markets are becoming the catalysts for new product and service innovation. Long‐term success, however, will take far more than simply making minor adjustments to existing products, lowering prices, and developing new sales channels, according to a new report, “Laboratories of innovation: leveraging emerging markets for commercial success” by the Member Firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Deloitte).Design/methodology/approachStudy by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.FindingsThe Deloitte study shows that companies will need to acquire a new set of competencies and organizational structures to generate a continuing stream of innovative products tailored to the needs of consumers and industrial buyers in emerging markets.Practical implicationsCompanies will need to acquire a new set of competencies and organizational structures to generate a continuing stream of innovative products tailored to the needs of consumers and industrial buyers in emerging markets. They will need to allow for local autonomy, for example local R&D and local commercial operations, while taking advantage of their parent company's governance, business processes, and management expertise to offer these products at dramatically lower prices that match the lower purchasing power of most buyers in emerging markets.Originality/valueSuccessful companies are looking beyond traditional strategies to meet the needs of markets with significantly lower per capita GDP.

BackgroundSince 2022, general practice has shifted from responding to the acute challenges of COVID-19 to restoring full services using a hybrid of remote, digital, and in-person care.AimTo examine how quality domains are addressed in contemporary UK general practice.Design and settingMulti-site, mostly qualitative longitudinal case study, placed in UK national policy context.MethodData were collected from longitudinal ethnographic case studies of 12 general practices (2021–2023), multi-stakeholder workshops, stakeholder interviews, patient surveys, official reports, and publicly accessible patient experience data. Data were coded thematically and analysed using multiple theories of quality.ResultsQuality efforts in UK general practice occur in the context of cumulative impacts of financial austerity, loss of resilience, increasingly complex patterns of illness and need, a diverse and fragmented workforce, material and digital infrastructure that is unfit for purpose, and physically distant and asynchronous ways of working. Providing the human elements of traditional general practice (such as relationship-based care, compassion, and support) is difficult and sometimes even impossible. Systems designed to increase efficiency have introduced new forms of inefficiency and have compromised other quality domains such as accessibility, patient-centredness, and equity. Long-term condition management varies in quality. Measures to mitigate digital exclusion (such as digital navigators) are welcome but do not compensate for extremes of structural disadvantage. Many staff are stressed and demoralised.ConclusionContemporary hybrid general practice features changes (digitalisation, physical distancing, extension of roles, and protocolisation) that have had the unintended effect of dehumanising, compromising, and fragmenting care. Policymakers and practices should urgently address the risks to patients and the traditional core values of general practice should be urgently addressed.

Many modern national libraries implement the model of a library open to any member of society. In conditions of rapid and pervasive development of digital technologies and the formation of the Internet information space, a website is an indispensable tool for ensuring the availability of the library, its information resources and services in the virtual space. The creation and use of websites to organize remote (virtual) services is one of the most significant activities of libraries. The article objective is to present and summarize the results of studying national library websites as a platform for remote user services. The Russian State Library researchers study websites of 24 national libraries in 22 countries as a part of investigating current state and prospects for development of the digitalization processes of public libraries. The researchers have identified main directions of remote services (informing users about the library, its resources and services; ensuring the availability of library information resources; improving the comfort of using the library), and the range of remote services, which includes above dozen remote library and information services, as well as nearly the same number of additional digital services that increase the comfort of users. They proposed promising directions to develop remote services (information about library resources and services, consulting and training on using library resources, personalization of services), and the introduction of digital technologies (multimedia and augmented reality technologies).

The use of remote communication between patients and general practitioners has greatly increased worldwide, especially following the COVID-19 outbreak. Yet, it is important to evaluate the impact of this shift on healthcare quality. This study aimed at evaluating remote healthcare quality by comparing four remote patient-to-physician communication modes used in Israel. The research methodology entailed criteria-based analysis conducted by healthcare quality experts and a subjective patient-perception questionnaire regarding the healthcare quality attributed to each mode and the extent to which each mode was used. Our findings indicate that the extent to which each mode is used was found to be inversely related to its rated quality. As such, the common assumption whereby patients tend to choose the mode of communication that will most likely ensure high service quality is refuted. Our findings also indicate that remote services often hinder the physician’s understanding of the patient’s clinical issues, as patients encounter difficulties in correctly articulating and conveying them; such services also hinder the patient’s understanding of the recommended course of treatment. These findings should be addressed by policymakers for improving remote communication services to ensure optimal healthcare service quality.