Jane Desborough1, Sally Hall Dykgraaf2, Elizabeth Sturgiss3, Anne Parkinson4, Garang Dut5, Michael Kidd6. 1. RN, RM, MPH, PhD, Action Research, COVID-19 Primary Care Response Group (seconded), Primary Care Division, Australian Government Department of Health, ACT; Senior Research Fellow, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, ACT. 2. RN, Grad Cert Clin Man, PhD Scholar, Action Research, COVID-19 Primary Care Response Group (seconded), Primary Care Division, Australian Government Department of Health, ACT; Research Manager, Rural Clinical School, ANU Medical School, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, ACT. 3. PhD, FRACGP, BMed, MPH, MForensMed, Senior Lecturer, Department of General Practice, Monash University, Vic; Visiting Fellow, Australian National University, ACT. deependCanberra@gmail.com. 4. BA, PhD, AFHEA, Action Research, COVID-19 Primary Care Response Group (seconded), Primary Care Division, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, ACT; Postdoctoral Fellow, Research School of Population Health, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT. 5. MD, MPH, MBA, Action Research, COVID-19 Primary Care Response Group (seconded), Primary Care Division, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, ACT; Fellow in Health Systems, College of Health @ Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT. 6. AM MBBS (Hons), MD, DCCH, DipRACOG, MCFP, FAHMS, Principal Medical Advisor and Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Australian Government Department of Health, ACT; Professor of Primary Care Reform, Australian National University, ACT; Adjunct Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada; Emeritus Director, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine and Primary Care, GVA; Professorial Fellow, Murdoch Children@s Research Institute, The Royal Children@s Hospital Melbourne, Vic; Honorary Professor of Global Primary Care, Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity, Flinders University, SA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Telehealth has been a very useful resource in primary care consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to examine primary care providers' (PCPs') and patients' experiences of using video and telephone modalities and their perceptions of the quality of telehealth. DISCUSSION: Video consultations offer the advantage of enabling visualisation of a patient's visual affect and physical appearance, and they are helpful in building therapeutic relationships. However, many PCPs and patients find telephone consultations of equal value, and this has been the preferred telehealth modality internationally. This may be due to challenges experienced by PCPs and patients with the set-up and use of video consultation technologies, and the quality of these experiences. Some members of a number of at-risk groups have experienced greater challenges with this. The future of telehealth in primary care requires its coherent integration into clinical infrastructure and substantial bolstering of community access and capacity to use both video and telephone modalities.
BACKGROUND: Telehealth has been a very useful resource in primary care consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to examine primary care providers' (PCPs') and patients' experiences of using video and telephone modalities and their perceptions of the quality of telehealth. DISCUSSION: Video consultations offer the advantage of enabling visualisation of a patient's visual affect and physical appearance, and they are helpful in building therapeutic relationships. However, many PCPs and patients find telephone consultations of equal value, and this has been the preferred telehealth modality internationally. This may be due to challenges experienced by PCPs and patients with the set-up and use of video consultation technologies, and the quality of these experiences. Some members of a number of at-risk groups have experienced greater challenges with this. The future of telehealth in primary care requires its coherent integration into clinical infrastructure and substantial bolstering of community access and capacity to use both video and telephone modalities.
Authors: Laura L Gleeson; Aoife Ludlow; Barbara Clyne; Ben Ryan; Rob Argent; James Barlow; Lisa Mellon; Aoife De Brún; Muriel Pate; Ciara Kirke; Frank Moriarty; Michelle Flood Journal: Explor Res Clin Soc Pharm Date: 2022-10-13