Attitudes, Barriers, and Concerns Regarding Telemedicine Among Swedish Primary Care Physicians: A Qualitative Study

Hanna Glock, Veronica Milos Nymberg, Beata Borgström Bolmsjö, Jonas Holm, Susanna Calling, Moa Wolff, Miriam Pikkemaat Center for Primary Health Care Research, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, SwedenCorrespondence: Hanna GlockCenter for Primary Health Care Research,...

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Autores principales:	Glock H, Milos Nymberg V, Borgström Bolmsjö B, Holm J, Calling S, Wolff M, Pikkemaat M
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Dove Medical Press 2021
Materias:	ehealth attitude of health personnel general practitioners survey Medicine (General) R5-920
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a3112739e6fe40dd982a81206bce6811
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a3112739e6fe40dd982a81206bce68112021-12-02T19:17:36ZAttitudes, Barriers, and Concerns Regarding Telemedicine Among Swedish Primary Care Physicians: A Qualitative Study1178-7074https://doaj.org/article/a3112739e6fe40dd982a81206bce68112021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.dovepress.com/attitudes-barriers-and-concerns-regarding-telemedicine-among-swedish-p-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IJGMhttps://doaj.org/toc/1178-7074Hanna Glock, Veronica Milos Nymberg, Beata Borgström Bolmsjö, Jonas Holm, Susanna Calling, Moa Wolff, Miriam Pikkemaat Center for Primary Health Care Research, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, SwedenCorrespondence: Hanna GlockCenter for Primary Health Care Research, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Box 50332, Malmö, SE-202 13, SwedenTel +46 707 97 90 53Email hanna.glock@med.lu.sePurpose: The primary care physician’s traditional patient contacts are challenged by the rapidly accelerating digital transformation. In a quantitative survey analysis based on the theory of planned behavior, we found high behavioral intention to use telemedicine among Swedish primary care physicians, but low reported use. The aim of this study was to further examine the physicians’ experiences regarding telemedicine, with a focus on possible explanations for the gap between intention and use, through analysis of the free-text comments supplied in the survey.Material and Methods: The material was collected through a web-based survey which was sent out to physicians at 160 primary health care centers in southern Sweden from May to August 2019. The survey covered four areas: general experiences of telemedicine, digital contacts, chronic disease monitoring with digital tools, and artificial intelligence. A total of 100 physicians submitted one or more free-text comments. These were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach.Results: The primary care physicians expressed attitudes towards telemedicine that focused on clinical usefulness. Barriers to use were the loss of personal contact with patients and a deficient technological infrastructure. The major concerns were that these factors would result in patient harm and an increased workload. The connection between intention and use postulated by the theory of planned behavior was not applicable in this context, as external factors in the form of availability and clinical usefulness of the specific technology were major impediments to use despite a generally positive attitude.Conclusion: All telemedicine tools must be evaluated regarding clinical usefulness, patient safety, and effects on staff workload, and end users should be included in this process. Utmost consideration is needed regarding how to retain the benefits of personal contact between patient and provider when digital solutions are introduced.Keywords: eHealth, attitude of health personnel, general practitioners, surveyGlock HMilos Nymberg VBorgström Bolmsjö BHolm JCalling SWolff MPikkemaat MDove Medical Pressarticleehealthattitude of health personnelgeneral practitionerssurveyMedicine (General)R5-920ENInternational Journal of General Medicine, Vol Volume 14, Pp 9237-9246 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	ehealth attitude of health personnel general practitioners survey Medicine (General) R5-920
spellingShingle	ehealth attitude of health personnel general practitioners survey Medicine (General) R5-920 Glock H Milos Nymberg V Borgström Bolmsjö B Holm J Calling S Wolff M Pikkemaat M Attitudes, Barriers, and Concerns Regarding Telemedicine Among Swedish Primary Care Physicians: A Qualitative Study
description	Hanna Glock, Veronica Milos Nymberg, Beata Borgström Bolmsjö, Jonas Holm, Susanna Calling, Moa Wolff, Miriam Pikkemaat Center for Primary Health Care Research, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, SwedenCorrespondence: Hanna GlockCenter for Primary Health Care Research, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Box 50332, Malmö, SE-202 13, SwedenTel +46 707 97 90 53Email hanna.glock@med.lu.sePurpose: The primary care physician’s traditional patient contacts are challenged by the rapidly accelerating digital transformation. In a quantitative survey analysis based on the theory of planned behavior, we found high behavioral intention to use telemedicine among Swedish primary care physicians, but low reported use. The aim of this study was to further examine the physicians’ experiences regarding telemedicine, with a focus on possible explanations for the gap between intention and use, through analysis of the free-text comments supplied in the survey.Material and Methods: The material was collected through a web-based survey which was sent out to physicians at 160 primary health care centers in southern Sweden from May to August 2019. The survey covered four areas: general experiences of telemedicine, digital contacts, chronic disease monitoring with digital tools, and artificial intelligence. A total of 100 physicians submitted one or more free-text comments. These were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach.Results: The primary care physicians expressed attitudes towards telemedicine that focused on clinical usefulness. Barriers to use were the loss of personal contact with patients and a deficient technological infrastructure. The major concerns were that these factors would result in patient harm and an increased workload. The connection between intention and use postulated by the theory of planned behavior was not applicable in this context, as external factors in the form of availability and clinical usefulness of the specific technology were major impediments to use despite a generally positive attitude.Conclusion: All telemedicine tools must be evaluated regarding clinical usefulness, patient safety, and effects on staff workload, and end users should be included in this process. Utmost consideration is needed regarding how to retain the benefits of personal contact between patient and provider when digital solutions are introduced.Keywords: eHealth, attitude of health personnel, general practitioners, survey
format	article
author	Glock H Milos Nymberg V Borgström Bolmsjö B Holm J Calling S Wolff M Pikkemaat M
author_facet	Glock H Milos Nymberg V Borgström Bolmsjö B Holm J Calling S Wolff M Pikkemaat M
author_sort	Glock H
title	Attitudes, Barriers, and Concerns Regarding Telemedicine Among Swedish Primary Care Physicians: A Qualitative Study
title_short	Attitudes, Barriers, and Concerns Regarding Telemedicine Among Swedish Primary Care Physicians: A Qualitative Study
title_full	Attitudes, Barriers, and Concerns Regarding Telemedicine Among Swedish Primary Care Physicians: A Qualitative Study
title_fullStr	Attitudes, Barriers, and Concerns Regarding Telemedicine Among Swedish Primary Care Physicians: A Qualitative Study
title_full_unstemmed	Attitudes, Barriers, and Concerns Regarding Telemedicine Among Swedish Primary Care Physicians: A Qualitative Study
title_sort	attitudes, barriers, and concerns regarding telemedicine among swedish primary care physicians: a qualitative study
publisher	Dove Medical Press
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/a3112739e6fe40dd982a81206bce6811
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Attitudes, Barriers, and Concerns Regarding Telemedicine Among Swedish Primary Care Physicians: A Qualitative Study

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