The views of health-care personnel about video consultation prior to implementation in primary health care in rural areas

Abstract

AimThe 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.BackgroundFor 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.MethodsFocus 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.FindingsThe 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.

The importance of ethical aspects when implementing eHealth services in healthcare: A discussion paper

“…The use of eHealth services enables healthcare resources to be used more efficiently (Nilsson et al., ). Research notes that eHealth services have improved healthcare by increasing access to, for example, specialist care for more patients (Johansson, Lindberg, & Söderberg, ). However, even though eHealth services provide patients with specialist care at a distance, it is important to maintain patient integrity with an ethical approach during the consultation in a form of video meeting between the healthcare centre and the hospital.…”

“…The use of eHealth services enables healthcare resources to be used more efficiently (Nilsson et al, 2010). Research notes that eHealth services have improved healthcare by increasing access to, for example, specialist care for more patients (Johansson, Lindberg, & S€ oderberg, 2014a).…”

Views of residents of rural areas on accessibility to specialist care through videoconference

“…Also, time constraints and patient discomfort in front of the camera, especially when the medical problem is located on private parts, may limit use of VC. Health care personnel described that they emphasized that that patients' feeling of safety was important when participating in VC [29].…”

Oncology nurses’ experiences with the implementation and trial of video communication in the follow-up of cancer patients in primary care: a pilot study in Norway

“…Gund et al [42] found that some nurses had to be motivated to accept and use information and communication technology (ICT) in nursing. Other research has shown that the training and motivation of nursing staff in the use of ICT is a prerequisite for VC use in nursing [32,43].…”

“…Not all nurses felt comfortable using the VC equipment, which may have been because they had little knowledge about its use, did not prioritize taking the time to learn how to use VC, or refused to use the video function that was available on the VC equipment. Research has shown that some health personnel have an aversion toward using VC in care due to technical problems [20,43]. A prerequisite for VC to be a good nursing aid is that it works with little technical difficulty and is used frequently so that both patients and nurses become accustomed to the new aid [30,43].…”