ReviewThe European journal of general practice2021
Virtual primary care in high-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic: Policy responses and lessons for the future.
Review in The European journal of general practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- General practitioners' experience about synchronous teleconsultation in primary care: a mixed-method systematic review.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- Ten pressure points in primary care during COVID-19: findings from an international narrative review.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- Virtual care pathways for people living with HIV: A mixed-methods systematic review.HIV medicine · 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
- Trends in the use of video consultation in general practice during COVID-19: impact of practice and country characteristics based on the international, cross-sectional PRICOV-19 study.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Uses of Virtual Care in Primary Care: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Identifying risks in dementia care: Insights from a qualitative study with clinical pharmacists.PloS one · 2025Article
- Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of influencing factors on family doctor service performance during major public health emergencies.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Review
- Patient safety in remote primary care encounters: multimethod qualitative study combining Safety I and Safety II analysis.BMJ quality & safety · 2024Article
- Implementing virtual primary care: experiences, perspectives and identification of improvement opportunities in an academic primary care setting.BMJ open quality · 2024Article
- Strategies to strengthen the resilience of primary health care in the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Quality and safety actions in primary care practices in COVID-19 pandemic: the PRICOV-19 study in Spain.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- An integrated primary care service to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in people with severe mental illness: Primrose-A - thematic analysis of its acceptability, feasibility, and implementation.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Developing standards for virtual delivery of mental health services in Canadian primary care: A qualitative study and modified Delphi process.PLOS mental health · 2024Article
- Access, Relationships, Quality and Safety (ARQS): a qualitative study to cocreate an Indigenous patient experience tool for virtual primary care.BMJ open quality · 2023Article
- Validating a framework to guide the implementation of high-quality virtual primary care: an international eDelphi study protocol.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Analysis of in-person general practice respiratory consultations: assessing translatability to telehealth.BJGP open · 2023Article
- COVID-19 vaccine short-term adverse events in the real-life family practice in Krakow, Poland.The European journal of general practice · 2023Article
- A Framework for Digital Health Policy: Insights from Virtual Primary Care Systems Across Five Nations.PLOS digital health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTelemedicine, once defined merely as the treatment of certain conditions remotely, has now often been supplanted in use by broader terms such as 'virtual care', in recognition of its increasing capability to deliver a diverse range of healthcare services from afar. With the unexpected onset of COVID-19, virtual care (e.g. telephone, video, online) has become essential to facilitating the continuation of primary care globally. Over several short weeks, existing healthcare policies have adapted quickly and empowered clinicians to use digital means to fulfil a wide range of clinical responsibilities, which until then have required face-to-face consultations.
objectivesThis paper aims to explore the virtual care policies and guidance material published during the initial months of the pandemic and examine their potential limitations and impact on transforming the delivery of primary care in high-income countries.
methodsA rapid review of publicly available national policies guiding the use of virtual care in General Practice was conducted. Documents were included if issued in the first six months of the pandemic (March to August of 2020) and focussed primarily on high-income countries. Documents must have been issued by a national health authority, accreditation body, or professional organisation, and directly refer to the delivery of primary care.
resultsWe extracted six areas of relevance: primary care transformation during COVID-19, the continued delivery of preventative care, the delivery of acute care, remote triaging, funding & reimbursement, and security standards.
conclusionVirtual care use in primary care saw a transformative change during the pandemic. However, despite the advances in the various governmental guidance offered, much work remains in addressing the shortcomings exposed during COVID-19 and strengthening viable policies to better incorporate novel technologies into the modern primary care clinical environment.
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