General Practitioners’ Experiences of Professional Uncertainties Emerging from the Introduction of Video Consultations in General Practice: Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background Uncertainties are omnipresent in health care, but little is known about general practitioners’ (GPs) professional uncertainties concerning digital consultations. This is problematic, as many countries have undergone an extensive digital transformation. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the professional uncertainties that emerged among Danish GPs with the introduction of video consultations. Methods We conducted qualitative interviews with 15 Danish GPs during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The interviews were analyzed using an abductive approach. Results We identified 3 categories of uncertainty: integrity, setting, and interaction. Respectively, these 3 categories of uncertainty refer to (1) uncertainties related to how technology may impede the provision of health care; (2) uncertainties related to the potentials of video technology; and (3) uncertainties related to how the video consultation technology affects interactions with patients. Conclusions The uncertainties experienced by Danish GPs appear to be a typical reaction to the introduction of new technology. Embedding video consultation technology into GPs’ working routines will take time, and GPs do not necessarily feel intuitively capable of transferring their abilities, such as being good and socially present for video-mediated consultations. The heterogeneity of professional uncertainties experienced among the GPs suggests that they are the product of individual GP-technology relationships—not of the technology in itself. Consequently, we cannot expect that uncertainties can be remedied by changing or precluding new technology.

Low Adoption of Video Consultations in Post–COVID-19 General Practice in Northern Europe: Barriers to Use and Potential Action Points

“…By this, we mean the deeply held cultural or professional norms, beliefs, values, and behaviors that relate to the perceived function of general practice and the role of a GP. Evidence shows that in general, GPs are more reluctant than patients about using video consultation [ 8 ], due to several perceived barriers, some of them being concerns about patient access to care (equity of care and “the digital divide”) and quality of care within the doctor-patient relationship [ 18 , 25 ].…”

GPs’ prescription patterns, experience, and attitudes towards medicinal cannabis - a nationwide survey in Denmark

“…The low prescription rate of MC could be because of a general prudence among GPs towards introduction of new medicines or tools, as also seen in the introduction of video consultations in general practice (25). Three categories of uncertainty were found: integrity, setting, and interaction.…”

Exploring patient participation during video consultations: A qualitative study

“…In the meantime, we wish to situate our analysis of attentional engagement despite gaze disengagement among existing research literature illustrating how new technology introduces new patterns of communicative behaviour. Licoppe 58 notes how mobile messaging affords short message bursts to reaffirm a sense of ongoing connected presence, while both Islind et al 26 and Nordtug et al 59 find that VC setups afford GPs’ division of attentive resources across different screens. Appropriating this premise that new technologies influences interaction, 48 , 60 we consider VCs to constitute a context in which particular communicative behaviour may be employed.…”