abstract: 'The COVID-19 pandemic mandated a substantial switch in primary health

  care delivery from an in-person to a mainly remote telephone or video

  service. As the COVID-19 pandemic approaches its third year, limited

  progress appears to have been made in terms of policy development around

  consultation methods for the post-acute phase of the pandemic. In

  September 2020, the International Primary Care Respiratory Group

  convened a global panel of primary care clinicians - including family

  physicians, paediatricians, pharmacists, academics and patients - to

  consider the policy and health management implications of the move to

  remote consultations in the primary care setting. The group gave special

  consideration to how and how far remote consultations should be

  integrated into routine primary health care delivery. Remote

  consultations can be a useful alternative to in-person consultations in

  primary care not only in situations where there is a need for viral

  infection control but also for the routine delivery of chronic disease

  management. However, they may not be more time efficient for the

  clinician, and they can add to the workload and work-related stress for

  primary care practitioners if they remain the dominant consultation

  mode. Remote consultations are also less appropriate than in-person

  consultations for new disease diagnosis, dealing with multiple issues

  and providing complex care. Ensuring health care professionals have the

  appropriate skill set to effectively deliver remote consultations,

  administrative and/or IT support and appropriate reimbursement will be

  key to achieving optimal integration of remote consultations into

  routine clinical practice. Addressing digital access and digital

  literacy issues at a societal level will also be essential to ensure

  individuals have fair and equitable access to the internet and

  sufficient security for exchange of personal and health-related data.'
affiliation: 'Williams, S (Corresponding Author), 30 Uplands Rd, London N8 9NL, England.

  Williams, Sian, Int Primary Care Resp Grp, Edinburgh, Scotland.

  Barnard, Amanda, Australian Natl Univ, Sch Gen Practice Rural \& Indigenous Hlth,
  Canberra, ACT, Australia.

  Collis, Phil, European Lung Fdn, Royal Leamington Spa, England.

  de Sousa, Jaime Correia, Univ Minho, Life \& Hlth Sci Res Inst ICVS, Sch Med, Braga,
  Portugal.

  Ghimire, Suraj, Tribhuvan Univ, Teaching Hosp, Inst Med, Kathmandu, Nepal.

  Habib, Monsur, Bangladesh Primary Care Resp Soc, Khulna, Bangladesh.

  Jelen, Tessa, British Lung Fdn Support Grp, London, England.

  Kanniess, Frank, Practice Family Med \& Allergy, Reinfeld, Germany.

  Mak, Vince, Imperial Coll Healthcare NHS Trust, London, England.

  Martins, Sonia; Donatelli, Fabio Weber, ABC Med Sch Brazil, Santo Andre, Brazil.

  Paulino, Ema, Ezfy, Lisbon, Portugal.

  Pinnock, Hilary, Univ Edinburgh, Usher Inst, Edinburgh, Scotland.

  Roman, Miguel, IdSBa, Palma De Mallorca, Spain.

  Sandelowsky, Hanna, Karolinska Inst, Inst NVS, Dept Family Med \& Primary Care,
  Stockholm, Sweden.

  Tsiligianni, Ioanna, Univ Crete, Fac Med, Dept Social Med, Iraklion, Greece.

  Williams, Sian, 30 Uplands Rd, London N8 9NL, England.'
author: Williams, Sian and Barnard, Amanda and Collis, Phil and de Sousa, Jaime Correia
  and Ghimire, Suraj and Habib, Monsur and Jelen, Tessa and Kanniess, Frank and Mak,
  Vince and Martins, Sonia and Paulino, Ema and Pinnock, Hilary and Roman, Miguel
  and Sandelowsky, Hanna and Tsiligianni, Ioanna and van der Steen, Laurine and Donatelli,
  Fabio Weber
author-email: sian@ipcrg.org
author_list:
- family: Williams
  given: Sian
- family: Barnard
  given: Amanda
- family: Collis
  given: Phil
- family: de Sousa
  given: Jaime Correia
- family: Ghimire
  given: Suraj
- family: Habib
  given: Monsur
- family: Jelen
  given: Tessa
- family: Kanniess
  given: Frank
- family: Mak
  given: Vince
- family: Martins
  given: Sonia
- family: Paulino
  given: Ema
- family: Pinnock
  given: Hilary
- family: Roman
  given: Miguel
- family: Sandelowsky
  given: Hanna
- family: Tsiligianni
  given: Ioanna
- family: van der Steen
  given: Laurine
- family: Donatelli
  given: Fabio Weber
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1177/13558196221140318
earlyaccessdate: DEC 2022
eissn: 1758-1060
files: []
issn: 1355-8196
journal: JOURNAL OF HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH \& POLICY
keywords: remote consultations; primary health care; health inequalities
language: English
month: JUL
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '30'
orcid-numbers: 'Tsiligianni, Ioanna/0000-0001-7922-7491

  de Sousa, Jaime Correia/0000-0001-6459-7908

  MARTINS, SONIA/0000-0001-5405-5064

  Paulino, Ema/0000-0002-4087-375X

  Williams, Sian/0000-0002-0527-2254'
pages: 181-189
papis_id: 8b5e1b27c27d92282784fdc67179cfed
ref: Williams2023remoteconsultations
researcherid-numbers: 'Tsiligianni, Ioanna/IUN-4739-2023

  de Sousa, Jaime Correia/H-5607-2015

  '
times-cited: '1'
title: 'Remote consultations in primary care across low-, middle- and high-income
  countries: Implications for policy and care delivery'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000895981500001
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '3'
volume: '28'
web-of-science-categories: Health Policy \& Services
year: '2023'