ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2020
General Practitioners' Perceptions of Whether Teleconsultations Reduce the Number of Face-to-face Visits in the Catalan Public Primary Care System: Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Patient-facing online triage tools and clinician decision-making: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- A theory-based analysis of the implementation of online asynchronous telemedicine platforms into primary care practices using Normalisation Process Theory.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- Understanding How the Design and Implementation of Online Consultations Affect Primary Care Quality: Systematic Review of Evidence With Recommendations for Designers, Providers, and Researchers.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- Digital Information Sharing Before Consultations in General Practice: Protocol for a Scoping Review.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Telehealth for primary healthcare delivery in rural and remote contexts in high-income countries-a scoping review.mHealth · 2025Review
- A 25-Year Retrospective of Health IT Infrastructure Building: The Example of the Catalonia Region.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Impact of Internet Hospital Consultations on Outpatient Visits and Expenses: Quasi-Experimental Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Access systems in general practice: a systematic scoping review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2024Article
- Effectiveness and safety of asynchronous telemedicine consultations in general practice: a systematic review.BJGP open · 2024Article
- Feasibility of a Pediatric Acute Video Consultation Process Among Health Care Professionals in Primary Care in a Rural Setting: Protocol for a Prospective Validation Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- eHealth in the Management of Depressive Episodes in Catalonia's Primary Care From 2017 to 2022: Retrospective Observational Study.JMIR mental health · 2024Observational
- Physician experiences with teleconsultations amidst conflict in Sudan.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Exploring the potential of artificial intelligence in improving skin lesion diagnosis in primary care.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Remote Consultations in General Practice - A Systematic Review.Zdravstveno varstvo · 2022Article
- Face-to-Face and Tele-Consults: A Study of the Effects on Diagnostic Activity and Patient Demand in Primary Healthcare.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- [Impact of the eConsultation on the primary care agenda].Atencion primaria · 2021Observational
- Determinants of Catalan public primary care professionals' intention to use digital clinical consultations (eConsulta) in the post-COVID-19 context: optical illusion or permanent transformation?Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
- Characteristics of Citizens and Their Use of Teleconsultations in Primary Care in the Catalan Public Health System Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
- An Asynchronous, Mobile Text-Based Platform (XatJove Anoia) for Providing Health Services to Teenagers: Protocol for a Quasiexperimental Study.JMIR research protocols · 2021Article
- Teleconsultation Between Patients and Health Care Professionals in the Catalan Primary Care Service: Message Annotation Analysis in a Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundeConsulta is a teleconsultation service involving general practitioners (GPs) and patients. It is part of the information system belonging to Catalonia's primary care service. It has been in operation since the end of 2015 in conjunction with face-to-face consultations with Primary Care Teams as one of the services offered in the patient's Personal Health Folder.
objectiveThis study aimed to assess the ability of using eConsulta to reduce the number of face-to-face visits to Primary Care Teams.
methodsUsing 13 categories proposed by the researchers, 18 GPs from the Central Catalonia Health Region retrospectively classified 2268 cases managed with eConsulta and indicated whether, in their opinion, the teleconsultations reduced the number of face-to-face visits.
resultsThere was broad consensus among the GPs that eConsulta has the potential to resolve patient queries for every type of consultation. eConsulta avoided the need for a face-to-face visit in 87.9% of cases. In addition, the GPs reported that the ease of access increased the demand for health care support in 27.7% of cases; otherwise, the patient would not have initiated the queries. Therefore, based on the equation (88% x [1-28%]), eConsulta could replace 63%-88% of conventional appointments. The most frequent uses of the teleconsultation service were for management of test results (35.2%), medical enquiries (16.0%), and the management of repeat prescriptions (12.2%). On average, the teleconsultations consisted of a mean 1.57 messages (SD 0.54 messages); 45.9% (1040/2268) of the teleconsultations consisted of 1 message, and the majority of the remaining teleconsultations consisted of 2-5 interactions. The patient initiated 60.0% (1361/2268) of the teleconsultations.
conclusionsBased on the GPs' perceptions, eConsulta could replace 63%-88% of conventional appointments. Therefore, asynchronous teleconsultations between practitioners and patients in primary care could avoid interactions that have limited added clinical value.
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