Patients’ Experiences of Initiating Video Consultations

Primary Health Care Research & Development, 2013

The aim of this study was to describe the views of health-care personnel about video consultation (VC) prior to implementation in primary health care in rural areas. Background: For people living in rural areas, it is often a long distance to specialist care, and VC could be an opportunity for increased access to care. Therefore, this study was to investigate what views primary health-care personnel had on VC as a working method in the distance between primary and specialist care. The development of technology in society and the introduction of technology in health care mean that the working methods must be adapted to a new approach. It is therefore important that in the initial phase of the introduction of new working methods to capture the personnel views regarding this. Methods: Focus group (FG) discussions with health-care personnel from five primary health-care centres in northern Sweden. The transcribed FG discussions were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Findings: The analysis revealed four main categories: a patient-centred VC; the importance of evaluating costs and resources; new technology in daily work; technology gives new possibilities in future health care.

British Journal of General Practice, 2019

BackgroundPeople increasingly communicate online, using visual communication mediums such as Skype and FaceTime. Growing demands on primary care services mean that new ways of providing patient care are being considered. Video consultation (VC) over the internet is one such mode.AimTo explore patients’ and clinicians’ experiences of VC.Design and settingSemi-structured interviews in UK primary care.MethodPrimary care clinicians were provided with VC equipment. They invited patients requiring a follow-up consultation to an online VC using the Attend Anywhere web-based platform. Participating patients required a smartphone, tablet, or video-enabled computer. Following VCs, semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients (n = 21) and primary care clinicians (n = 13), followed by a thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants reported positive experiences of VC, and stated that VC was particularly helpful for them as working people and people with mobility or mental health problems. VC...

BMJ Open

ObjectiveTo explore the experiences of Danish patients using video consultation (VC) to consult their general practitioner (GP) during COVID-19 lockdown and their attitudes towards continued use beyond COVID-19.DesignA qualitative design was employed, consisting of individual semi-structured interviews where participants were asked to retrospectively describe their experiences and reflections. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.SettingCapital and Southern Regions of Denmark.Participants27 patients (17 women and 10 men) aged between 23 and 76 years who had used VC once or more during the COVID-19 pandemic participated. The data were collected from February to October 2020. We used a convenience sampling technique and sample size was based on the principle of information power.ResultsThree overarching themes, each containing subthemes, were developed. Participants described pre-use reactions and concerns relating to VC as being ‘better than nothing’ given the COVID-19 circumst...

European Geriatric Medicine, 2022

Aim To enquire the perceived quality of care delivered through VC at a geriatric outpatient clinic from a healthcare professional's perspective triangulated with the views of others. Findings The implementation of video consulting at the geriatric outpatient clinic was slow due to the absence of many facilitating factors, but participants believe video consulting can be of future use for particular geriatric patients. Both efficiency and comfort gains and losses were mentioned for and by healthcare professionals and patients. Message In the geriatric population, consideration should be given to the cognitive functioning of the patient and the presence of a digitally literate person when adopting video consultations.

British Journal of General Practice

BackgroundGrowing demands on primary care services have led to policymakers promoting video consultations (VCs) to replace routine face-to-face consultations (FTFCs) in general practice.AimTo explore the content, quality, and patient experience of VC, telephone (TC), and FTFCs in general practice.Design and settingComparison of audio-recordings of follow-up consultations in UK primary care.MethodPrimary care clinicians were provided with video-consulting equipment. Participating patients required a smartphone, tablet, or computer with camera. Clinicians invited patients requiring a follow-up consultation to choose a VC, TC, or FTFC. Consultations were audio-recorded and analysed for content and quality. Participant experience was explored in post-consultation questionnaires. Case notes were reviewed for NHS resource use.ResultsOf the recordings, 149/163 were suitable for analysis. VC recruits were younger, and more experienced in communicating online. FTFCs were longer than VCs (mea...

International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications, 2014

Introduction. Video consultation (VC) can improve access to specialist care, especially for individuals who live in rural areas that are long distances from specialist clinics.Aim. The aim of this study was to describe patients’ experiences with specialist care via VC encounters.Method. Interviews were conducted with 26 patients who had participated in a VC encounter. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis.Result. The analysis resulted in two themes. The theme “confident with the technology” was constructed from the categories “possibilities and obstacles in using VC encounters” and “advantages and disadvantages of the technology.” The theme “personal satisfaction with the VC encounters” was constructed from the categories “support from the healthcare personnel,” “perceived security,” and “satisfaction with the specialist consultation.”Conclusion. The patients who did not think that the VC was the best care still considered that the visit was adequate because they di...

Primary health care research & development, 2016

Patients living in rural areas often need to travel long distances for access to specialist care. To increase access to specialist care, video consultation between patients in primary healthcare and specialist care has been used. In order for this new method to be developed and used to the fullest, it is important to understand healthcare personnel's experiences with this intervention. The aim of this study was to describe healthcare personnel's experiences using video consultation in their work in primary healthcare. A mixed methods design was used, and the data were analysed using qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. Interviews were conducted with eight general practitioners and one district nurse, all of whom had conducted a video consultation with a patient and a specialist physician or a cardiac specialist nurse. After each video consultation, the participants completed a consultation report/questionnaire. Healthcare personnel considered video consultation to ...

Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association, 2014

Background: We examined patient interest in a telehealth model in which the patient supplies the hardware and Internet connectivity to meet with a healthcare provider from his or her home via video call (video appointment). We hoped to understand prospectively the desirability, feasibility, and viability from the patient perspective. Materials and Methods: A phone survey was conducted of a random sample of patients who had been seen in the outpatient setting at a single institution. The sample was stratified by proximity to the local institution with oversampling for patients living outside a 120-mile radius. Results: Out of 500 total patients, 301 patients responded, and 263 met the inclusion criteria. Of those 263 respondents, 38% indicated "very likely" to accept an invitation to see their provider via video, 28.1% "somewhat likely," and 33.8% "not at all likely." Of respondents, 75% have broadband, although only 36% reported having a Web camera. The...

Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2023

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, video consultation was introduced in general practice in many countries around the world as a solution to provide remote health care to patients. It was assumed that video consultation would find widespread adoption in post-COVID-19 general practice. However, adoption rates remain low across countries in Northern Europe, suggesting that barriers to its use exist among general practitioners and other practice staff. In this viewpoint, we take a comparative approach, reflecting on similarities and differences in implementation conditions of video consultations in 5 Northern European countries' general practice settings that might have created barriers to its use within general practice. We convened at a cross-disciplinary seminar in May 2022 with researchers and clinicians from 5 Northern European countries with expertise in digital care in general practice, and this viewpoint emerged out of dialogues from that seminar. We have reflected on barriers across general practice settings in our countries, such as lacking technological and financial support for general practitioners, that we feel are critical for adoption of video consultation in the coming years. Furthermore, there is a need to further investigate the contribution of cultural elements, such as professional norms and values, to adoption. This viewpoint may inform policy work to ensure that a sustainable level of video consultation use can be reached in the future, one that reflects the reality of general practice settings rather than policy optimism.

British Journal of General Practice, 2022

BackgroundFewer than 1% of UK general practice consultations occur by video.AimTo explain why video consultations are not more widely used in general practice.Design and settingAnalysis of a sub-sample of data from three mixed-method case studies of remote consultation services in various UK settings from 2019–2021.MethodThe dataset included interviews and focus groups with 121 participants from primary care (33 patients, 55 GPs, 11 other clinicians, nine managers, four support staff, four national policymakers, five technology industry). Data were transcribed, coded thematically, and then analysed using the Planning and Evaluating Remote Consultation Services (PERCS) framework.ResultsWith few exceptions, video consultations were either never adopted or soon abandoned in general practice despite a strong policy push, short-term removal of regulatory and financial barriers, and advances in functionality, dependability, and usability of video technologies (though some products remaine...