Online and telephone access to general practice: a cross-sectional patient survey
Background: Improving access to primary health care in the UK has focused on the use of telephone and online access, but little is known about how awareness of and use varies between different patient groups. Aim: To determine how patients are interacting with telephone and online channels for acces...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Royal College of General Practitioners
2021-08-01
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| Series: | BJGP Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://bjgpopen.org/content/5/4/BJGPO.2020.0179 |
| _version_ | 1818881212636200960 |
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| author | Carol Bryce Matthew DL O'Connell Jeremy Dale Martin Underwood Helen Atherton |
| author_facet | Carol Bryce Matthew DL O'Connell Jeremy Dale Martin Underwood Helen Atherton |
| author_sort | Carol Bryce |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Improving access to primary health care in the UK has focused on the use of telephone and online access, but little is known about how awareness of and use varies between different patient groups. Aim: To determine how patients are interacting with telephone and online channels for accessing general practice services and information, and to analyse how this varies according to patient characteristics and health status. Design & setting: A cross-sectional self-administered survey of adult patients in general practices across the West Midlands, UK. Method: Descriptive statistics were used to show participants’ awareness of and interaction with online information sources and remote access. Multivariable logistic regression was used to model the relationships between demographic and health characteristics, and awareness and use of online services and alternatives to face-to-face consultations (for example, telephone). Results: A total of 2789 patients (19.0% response rate) from 43 general practices participated. The study found 60.8% (n = 1651/2715) of participants were aware of online services and 30.3% (n = 811/2674) reported having used one. Daily internet usage and frequently visiting the GP showed the strongest associations with knowledge and use of online services. Conclusion: The study shows that there is the potential for inequitable awareness and use of telephone and online services in general practice populations. Given that their use has greatly increased owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, future service design will need to ensure equity is taken into account. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T14:58:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2db563f10fdd4e0da580b61e91cfc22b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-3795 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T14:58:17Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Royal College of General Practitioners |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJGP Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-2db563f10fdd4e0da580b61e91cfc22b2022-12-21T20:16:38ZengRoyal College of General PractitionersBJGP Open2398-37952021-08-015410.3399/BJGPO.2020.0179Online and telephone access to general practice: a cross-sectional patient surveyCarol Bryce0Matthew DL O'Connell1Jeremy Dale2Martin Underwood3Helen Atherton4Unit of Academic Primary Care, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UKDepartment of Population Health and Environmental Sciences, King’s College London, London, UKUnit of Academic Primary Care, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UKWarwick Clinical Trials Unit, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UKUnit of Academic Primary Care, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UKBackground: Improving access to primary health care in the UK has focused on the use of telephone and online access, but little is known about how awareness of and use varies between different patient groups. Aim: To determine how patients are interacting with telephone and online channels for accessing general practice services and information, and to analyse how this varies according to patient characteristics and health status. Design & setting: A cross-sectional self-administered survey of adult patients in general practices across the West Midlands, UK. Method: Descriptive statistics were used to show participants’ awareness of and interaction with online information sources and remote access. Multivariable logistic regression was used to model the relationships between demographic and health characteristics, and awareness and use of online services and alternatives to face-to-face consultations (for example, telephone). Results: A total of 2789 patients (19.0% response rate) from 43 general practices participated. The study found 60.8% (n = 1651/2715) of participants were aware of online services and 30.3% (n = 811/2674) reported having used one. Daily internet usage and frequently visiting the GP showed the strongest associations with knowledge and use of online services. Conclusion: The study shows that there is the potential for inequitable awareness and use of telephone and online services in general practice populations. Given that their use has greatly increased owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, future service design will need to ensure equity is taken into account.https://bjgpopen.org/content/5/4/BJGPO.2020.0179digital healthprimary health careinequalitiesinternettelephone |
| spellingShingle | Carol Bryce Matthew DL O'Connell Jeremy Dale Martin Underwood Helen Atherton Online and telephone access to general practice: a cross-sectional patient survey BJGP Open digital health primary health care inequalities internet telephone |
| title | Online and telephone access to general practice: a cross-sectional patient survey |
| title_full | Online and telephone access to general practice: a cross-sectional patient survey |
| title_fullStr | Online and telephone access to general practice: a cross-sectional patient survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Online and telephone access to general practice: a cross-sectional patient survey |
| title_short | Online and telephone access to general practice: a cross-sectional patient survey |
| title_sort | online and telephone access to general practice a cross sectional patient survey |
| topic | digital health primary health care inequalities internet telephone |
| url | https://bjgpopen.org/content/5/4/BJGPO.2020.0179 |
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