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

Abstract

Aim: The 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.

Background: For 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.

Methods: Focus 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.

Findings: The 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.