Telemedicine in Primary Care: Lessons Learned About Implementing Health Care Innovations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Autor: Etz RS; Larry A. Green Center for the Advancement of Primary Health Care for the Public Good, Richmond, Virginia rebecca.etz@vcuhealth.org.; Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia., Solid CA; Solid Research Group, LLC, St Paul, Minnesota., Gonzalez MM; Larry A. Green Center for the Advancement of Primary Health Care for the Public Good, Richmond, Virginia.; Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia., Britton E; Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia., Stange KC; Larry A. Green Center for the Advancement of Primary Health Care for the Public Good, Richmond, Virginia.; Center for Community Health Integration, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio., Reves SR; Larry A. Green Center for the Advancement of Primary Health Care for the Public Good, Richmond, Virginia.; Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Annals of family medicine [Ann Fam Med] 2023 Jul-Aug; Vol. 21 (4), pp. 297-304.
DOI: 10.1370/afm.2979
Abstrakt: Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine emerged as an important tool in primary care. Technology and policy-related challenges, however, revealed barriers to adoption and implementation. This report describes the findings from weekly and monthly surveys of primary care clinicians regarding telemedicine during the first 2 years of the pandemic.
Methods: From March 2020 to March 2022, we conducted electronic surveys using convenience samples obtained through social networking and crowdsourcing. Unique tokens were used to confidentially track respondents over time. A multidisciplinary team conducted quantitative and qualitative analyses to identify key concepts and trends.
Results: A total of 36 surveys resulted in an average of 937 respondents per survey, representing clinicians from all 50 states and multiple specialties. Initial responses indicated general difficulties in implementing telemedicine due to poor infrastructure and reimbursement mechanisms. Over time, attitudes toward telemedicine improved and respondents considered video and telephone-based care important tools for their practice, though not a replacement for in-person care.
Conclusions: The implementation of telemedicine during COVID-19 identified barriers and opportunities for technology adoption and highlighted steps that could support primary care clinics' ability to learn, adapt, and implement technology.
(© 2023 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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