Experiences of digital communication with automated patient interviews and asynchronous chat in Swedish primary care: a qualitative study

Autor: Artin Entezarjou, Patrik Midlöv, Beata Borgström Bolmsjö, Susanna Calling, Veronica Milos Nymberg
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: BMJ Open, Vol 10, Iss 7 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2044-6055
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036585
Popis: Objectives To explore staff experiences of working with a digital communication platform implemented throughout several primary healthcare centres in Sweden.Design A descriptive qualitative approach using focus group interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to code, categorise and thematise data.Setting Primary healthcare centres across Sweden, in both rural and urban settings.Participants A total of three mixed focus groups, comprising 19 general practitioners and nurses with experience using a specific digital communication platform.Results Five categories emerged: ‘Fears and Benefits of Digital Communication’, ‘Altered Practice Workflow’, ‘Accepting the Digital Society’, ‘Safe and Secure for Patients’ and ‘Doesn't Suit Everyone and Everything’. These were abstracted into two comprehensive themes: ‘Adjusting to a novel medium of communication’ and ‘Digitally filtered primary care’, describing how staff experienced integrating the software as a useful tool for certain clinical contexts while managing the communication challenges associated with written communication.Conclusions Family medicine staff were ambivalent concerning the use of digital communication but, after a period of adjustment, it was seen as a useful communication tool especially when combined with continuity of care. Staff acknowledged limitations regarding use by inappropriate patient populations, information overload and misinterpretation of text by both staff and patients.
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