Telehealth in Primary Healthcare: A Portrait of its Rapid Implementation during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Bréton, Mylaine; Deville‐Stoetzel, Nadia; Gaboury, Isabelle; Smithman, Mélanie Ann; Kaczorowski, Janusz; Lussier, Marie-Thérèse; Haggerty, Jeannie; Motulsky, Aude; Nugus, Peter; Layani, Géraldine; Paré, Guy; Evoy, Gabrielle; Arsenault, Mylène; Paquette, Jean‐Sébastien; Quinty, Julien; Authier, Marie; Mokraoui, Nadjib; Luc, Mireille; Lavoie, Marie-Ève

doi:10.12927/hcpol.2021.26576

“…Flexibility, efficiency, and access to information have been some of the benefits mentioned by the participants in this study. This is also in line with previous studies in which care professionals such as physicians are satisfied and positive towards using video consultations [ 49 – 51 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Some of these challenges include lack of social interaction with co-workers, being dependent on technology, fast changes of the platform, facing patients’ unrealistic expectations about digital healthcare services, dealing with patients’ unfamiliarity with the culture of digital care, and lack of physical contact with patients. These challenges have also been mentioned in some previous studies [ 10 , 49 – 51 ]. Furthermore, the nurses in this study as participants in some other studies felt that technical problems may affect their workflow [ 37 , 50 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Nurses’ experience of using video consultation in a digital care setting and its impact on their workflow and communication

Razavi

¹

,

Farrokhnia

²

,

Davoody

³

2022

PLoS ONE

2

0

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Sweden as many other countries uses video consultation to increase patients’ access to primary healthcare services particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working in digital care settings and using new technologies, in this case video consultations, require learning new skills and adoption to new workflow. The aim of this study is to explore nurses’ experience of using video consultation in a digital care setting and its impact on their workflow and communication. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were carried out with registered nurses recruited from a private digital healthcare provider. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using an abductive approach. Nurses’ workflow was modeled, and several categories and subcategories were identified: nurses’ workflow (efficiency, flexibility, and information accessibility); communication (interaction with patients and interprofessional communication); user experience (change and development of the platform, challenges, and combining digital and physical care). Even though providing online care has its limitations, the nurses were positive towards using video consultations.

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“…Results of this study corroborate with those of Breton et al [ 87 ], in which phone calls and video calls were identified as the most frequently used remote technologies, especially in the first months of the pandemic. We highlight that communication between health services users and professionals, mainly regarding platforms that ensure safety and reliability in the context of health care [ 88 ], is an important measure to be adopted due to the increased offer of newly developed applications.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Digital Health Opportunities to Improve Primary Health Care in the Context of COVID-19: Scoping Review

Silva¹,

Lopes²,

Júnior³

et al. 2022

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic brought social, economic, and health impacts, requiring fast adaptation of health systems. Although information and communication technologies were essential for achieving this objective, the extent to which health systems incorporated this technology is unknown. Objective The aim of this study was to map the use of digital health strategies in primary health care worldwide and their impact on quality of care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We performed a scoping review based on the Joanna Briggs Institute manual and guided by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) Extension for Scoping Reviews. A systematic and comprehensive three-step search was performed in June and July 2021 in multidisciplinary health science databases and the gray literature. Data extraction and eligibility were performed by two authors independently and interpreted using thematic analysis. Results A total of 44 studies were included and six thematic groups were identified: characterization and geographic distribution of studies; nomenclatures of digital strategies adopted; types of information and communication technologies; characteristics of digital strategies in primary health care; impacts on quality of care; and benefits, limitations, and challenges of digital strategies in primary health care. The impacts on organization of quality of care were investigated by the majority of studies, demonstrating the strengthening of (1) continuity of care; (2) economic, social, geographical, time, and cultural accessibility; (3) coordination of care; (4) access; (5) integrality of care; (6) optimization of appointment time; (7) and efficiency. Negative impacts were also observed in the same dimensions, such as reduced access to services and increased inequity and unequal use of services offered, digital exclusion of part of the population, lack of planning for defining the role of professionals, disarticulation of actions with real needs of the population, fragile articulation between remote and face-to-face modalities, and unpreparedness of professionals to meet demands using digital technologies. Conclusions The results showed the positive and negative impacts of remote strategies on quality of care in primary care and the inability to take advantage of the potential of technologies. This may demonstrate differences in the organization of fast and urgent implementation of digital strategies in primary health care worldwide. Primary health care must strengthen its response capacity, expand the use of information and communication technologies, and manage challenges using scientific evidence since digital health is important and must be integrated into public service.

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“…Flexibility, efficiency, and access to information have been some of the benefits mentioned by the participants in this study. This is also in line with previous studies in which care professionals such as physicians are satisfied and positive towards using video consultations [44][45][46].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Some of these challenges include lack of social interaction with co-workers, being dependent on technology, fast changes of the platform, facing patients’ unrealistic expectations about digital healthcare services, dealing with patients’ unfamiliarity with the culture of digital care, and lack of physical contact with patients. These challenges have also been mentioned in some previous studies [10,44,45,46]. Furthermore, the nurses in this study as participants in some other studies felt that technical problems may affect their workflow [32,45].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Nurses’ experience of using video consultation in a digital care setting and its impact on their workflow and communication

Razavi

¹

,

Farrokhnia

²

,

Davoody

³

2022

Preprint

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sweden as many other countries uses video consultation to increase patients’ access to primary healthcare services particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working in digital care settings and using new technologies, in this case video consultations, require learning new skills and adoption to new workflow. The aim of this study is to explore nurses’ experience of using video consultation in a digital care setting and its impact on their workflow and communication. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were carried out with registered nurses recruited from a private digital healthcare provider. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using an abductive approach. Nurses’ workflow was modeled, and several categories and subcategories were identified: nurses’ workflow (efficiency, flexibility, and information accessibility); communication (interaction with patients and interprofessional communication); user experience (change and development of the platform, challenges, and combining digital and physical care). Even though providing online care has its limitations, the nurses were positive towards using video consultations.

show abstract

Telehealth in Primary Healthcare: A Portrait of its Rapid Implementation during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 40 publications

References 31 publications

Nurses’ experience of using video consultation in a digital care setting and its impact on their workflow and communication

Nurses’ experience of using video consultation in a digital care setting and its impact on their workflow and communication

Digital Health Opportunities to Improve Primary Health Care in the Context of COVID-19: Scoping Review

Nurses’ experience of using video consultation in a digital care setting and its impact on their workflow and communication

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