"Get Used to the Fact That Some of the Care Is Really Going to Take Place in a Different Way": General Practitioners' Experiences with E-Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(9)2022 04 22.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1809887
ABSTRACT
The first outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the introduction of the more extensive use of e-health in Dutch general practices. The objective of this study was to investigate the experiences of general practitioners (GPs) regarding this change. In addition, the necessary conditions for e-health technology to be of added value to general practices were explored. In April 2020, 30 GPs were recruited for in-depth interviews via a web survey which contained questions regarding the use of e-health during the first wave of the pandemic. While most GPs intend to keep using e-health applications more extensively than before the pandemic, the actual use of e-health depends on several factors, including the characteristics of the application's users. The following conditions for successful and sustainable implementation of e-health were identified (1) integration of e-health technology in the organization of GP care, (2) sufficient user-friendliness of applications as well as digital skills of professionals and patients, and (3) adequate technological and financial support of e-health services. GPs clearly recognize the benefits of using e-health, and most GPs intend to keep using e-health applications more extensively than before the pandemic. However, improvements are needed to allow widespread and sustainable adoption of e-health technology in general practices.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Telemedicine
/
General Practitioners
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph19095120
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