ID-5184 Wonca Abstracts supplement A-K 13-10-23 - Flipbook - Page 117
WONCA 2023 Supplement 1: WONCA 2023 abstracts (A–K)
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Variation in uptake and provider experiences of safety and
quality in GP video consultations in Australia: A wholepopulation mixed-methods study
Dr Danielle Butler, Prof Christine Phillips, Muhammad Shahdaat Bin Sayeed, Kay Soga, Prof Kirsty
Douglas, Prof Sally Hall-Dygraaf, Grace Joshy, Emily Banks, Emily Lancsar, Jane Desborough,
Anne Parkinson, Dan Chateau, Hsei Di Law, Nina Lazarevic, Rosemary Korda, on behalf of the ANU
Telehealth in Primary Care study team
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Australian National University
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Background
Since introduction of whole-population telehealth in Australia in 2020, overall uptake of video
consultations has been low, particularly in general practice (~3% of all telehealth consultations).
Reasons for this are unclear. Video consultation also presents potential new risks in relation to
quality and safety. This study examines variation in use of video consultations among telehealth
users by patient characteristics, changes in patient and provider uptake over time and how providers
experience and manage safety and quality in video consultations.
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Methods
Medicare general practitioner (GP) service claims from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022, were
linked to 2016/2021 Census data through the Multi-Agency Data Integration Project. Number of
services and the proportion of patients and providers using video consultation were plotted by month.
Differences in video use by patient characteristics were quantified using modified Poisson regression,
adjusting for age, sex, region and frequency of GP use. Think-aloud interviews with case-based
scenarios are being used to explore provider experiences.
Results
In preliminary findings, 11% (~1.9M/16.7M) of telehealth patients used video consultations. In adjusted
models, GP video use was higher in younger adults (35–44 years versus ≥85 years, 13.6% versus
6.7%), higher socioeconomic groups (eg high vs low education, 14% vs 10%), people living in remote
regions (very remote vs major cities, 19.3% vs 11.3%) and those with higher overall GP use (≥20 vs
1-2 services per year, 26.6% vs 5.1%). There was little change over time in use of video consultations.
Findings by health conditions and on provider experiences of managing safety and quality in video
consultations will also be presented.
Conclusion
While overall use of GP video consultations was low, uptake was more frequent in younger adults,
advantaged groups, people in remote areas and those with high use of GP services. This presentation
will also provide information on provider usage and experiences of video consultation that will inform
current policy reform.
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