ArticleBMC health services research2022
A mixed-method study on the provision of remote consultations for non-communicable disease patients during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia: lessons for the future.
Article in BMC health services research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- General practitioners' experience about synchronous teleconsultation in primary care: a mixed-method systematic review.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- Telehealth for primary healthcare delivery in rural and remote contexts in high-income countries-a scoping review.mHealth · 2025Review
- Patients' and professionals' experiences with remote care during COVID-19: a qualitative study in general practices in low-income neighborhoods.Primary health care research & development · 2024Article
- Ethical considerations in prevention and management of non-communicable diseases: a narrative review.Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine · 2024Review
- Telehealth in remote Australia: a supplementary tool or an alternative model of care replacing face-to-face consultations?BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Consultation Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Experience of Lithuanian Physicians.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Exploring public opinion about telehealth during COVID-19 by social media analytics.Journal of telemedicine and telecare · 2022Article
- Excess mortality associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia: a population-level analysis of all-cause and noncommunicable disease deaths in 2020.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care utilization related to common mental disorders in four European countries: A retrospective observational study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- An analysis of the causes of exhaustion among physicians working in family physician teams during the COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania.PloS one · 2022Article
- Patient and clinician experiences of remote consultation during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: A service evaluation.Digital healthArticle
- Inequities in Health Service Needs Among Older Adults During COVID-19: A Gender-Stratified Analysis Using Longitudinal SHARE Data.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
- COVID-19 Pandemic- Ethical Challenges for Healthcare Workers Practicing in Resource-Limited Settings.Nigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical AssociationReview
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the ability of healthcare systems to ensure the continuity of health services for patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The issue of remote consultations has emerged. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote consultations were not routinely provided or covered by public health funding in Latvia. This study aimed to describe the dynamics of consultations and the volume of remote consultations provided for patients with particular NCD and explore clinicians' experiences of providing remote consultations during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia.
methodsA mixed-method study focusing on the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia in Spring 2020 was conducted. Quantitative data from the National Health Services were analysed to assess the dynamics of consultations for patients with selected NCDs. Qualitative data were collected through 34 semi-structured interviews with general practitioners (GPs) and specialists and were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis. Purposive maximum variation sampling was used for participant selection.
resultsDuring the period with the strongest restrictions of scheduled on-site consultations, a decrease in the total number of consultations was observed for a variety of NCDs. A significant proportion of consultations in this period were provided remotely. GPs provided approximately one-third of cancer-related consultations and almost half of consultations for the other selected conditions remotely. Among specialists, endocrinologists had the highest proportion of remote consultations (up to 72.0%), while urologists had the lowest (16.4%). Thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed five themes: 1) Adjusting in a time of confusion and fear, 2) Remote consultations: safety versus availability, 3) Sacrifice and loss of privacy, 4) Advantages and disadvantages of communication technologies, and 5) Different form of communication and a health literacy challenge.
conclusionsDuring the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia, disruptions to health care services decreased the total number of consultations for patients with NCDs provided by both GPs and specialists. In this period, remote consultations proved to be an important instrument for ensuring the continuity of health care for patients with NCDs, and the necessity to develop a well-designed system for telemedicine in Latvia was highlighted.
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