Remote Consultations in General Practice in Ireland: Who Is Missing Out?

Abstract

Introduction: This research examines the characteristics associated with the use of remote consultations in general practice in Ireland during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The analysis uses three waves of a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of health in Ireland ("Healthy Ireland" survey), relating to the years 2020/2021, 2021/2022, and 2022/2023. The sample includes people aged 15 and over who reported seeing a general practitioner (GP) in the 4 weeks prior to the survey. The outcome variable ("remote consultation") captures whether a respondent reported that their most recent GP consultation took place via telephone or video ("remote consultation"). Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the likelihood of having a remote consultation and a range of potential explanatory variables including age, gender, insurance status, and socioeconomic status. Results: There was a significant decrease in the percentage of respondents reporting remote consultations over the period of analysis, from 39% in 2020/2021 to 10% in 2022/2023. In later periods, being female (odds ratio [OR] = 1.47 [1.04, 2.09]), having private health insurance (OR = 1.76 [1.13, 2.73]), and having a long-term health condition (OR = 1.53 [0.98, 2.39]) were positively associated with the probability of reporting a remote consultation, while being in an older age group (OR = 0.29 [0.13, 0.62]) was negatively associated with the likelihood of a remote consultation. Discussion: The high prevalence of remote consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic was not maintained in the postpandemic period. Policymakers should consider the reasons for this and consider the gendered, age-based, and insurance-based disparities in remote consultation utilization in the development and promotion of digital health care.