The large-scale implementation of e-consultations with the GP

Description

The aim of this project is to understand under which conditions the use of e-consultations in primary care offers benefits to the health system, GPs and ultimately patients. E-consultations include text-based online consultations, video consultations and telephone consultations.

Goals

Study objectives are defined around three perspectives.

Health system

To study the use of e-consultations in Norway after the COVID-19 pandemic and explore the impact on equitable access to care.

General practitioners

To evaluate how GPs perceive clinical appropriateness, safety, quality of communication and role of the doctor-patient relationship in e-consultations. To investigate how different organizational models adopted by GPs affect their workload and availability.

Patients

To evaluate (mirroring GPs’ experience) how patients experience clinical appropriateness, safety, quality of communication and role of the doctor-patient relationship in e-consultations. To investigate the characteristics of users and non-users and the reasons and consequences of using or not using e-consultations.

Method

The project adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate the large-scale implementation of e-consultations in Norway and address the study objectives.

1. RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY (population data)

A registry-based study will be conducted to explore the use of e-consultations after the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. PROSPECTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY (50-100 GPs)

A prospective cross-sectional study will be conducted to evaluate the perspectives of both GPs and patients in association with 1,500 video consultations.

3. PATIENT SURVEY AND INTERVIEWS (users and non-users of e-consultations)

In-depth interviews will be conducted with elderly users of e-consultations with the GP. The perspectives of users of e-consultations with the GP will be also explored through an online national survey.

Conclusion

This project will provide key stakeholders, policymakers and practitioners with research-generated knowledge on the impact of e-consultations, thus supporting optimal use of the service in routine practice and maximize its benefits.