Nordtug Maja, Assing Hvidt Elisabeth, Lüchau Elle Christine, Grønning Anette
Department for the Study of Culture, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark.
Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.
JMIR Form Res. 2022 Jun 14;6(6):e36289. doi: 10.2196/36289.
Uncertainties are omnipresent in health care, but little is known about general practitioners' (GPs) professional uncertainties concerning digital consultations. This is problematic, as many countries have undergone an extensive digital transformation.
The aim of this study was to explore the professional uncertainties that emerged among Danish GPs with the introduction of video consultations.
We conducted qualitative interviews with 15 Danish GPs during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The interviews were analyzed using an abductive approach.
We identified 3 categories of uncertainty: integrity, setting, and interaction. Respectively, these 3 categories of uncertainty refer to (1) uncertainties related to how technology may impede the provision of health care; (2) uncertainties related to the potentials of video technology; and (3) uncertainties related to how the video consultation technology affects interactions with patients.
The uncertainties experienced by Danish GPs appear to be a typical reaction to the introduction of new technology. Embedding video consultation technology into GPs' working routines will take time, and GPs do not necessarily feel intuitively capable of transferring their abilities, such as being good and socially present for video-mediated consultations. The heterogeneity of professional uncertainties experienced among the GPs suggests that they are the product of individual GP-technology relationships-not of the technology in itself. Consequently, we cannot expect that uncertainties can be remedied by changing or precluding new technology.
不确定性在医疗保健中无处不在,但对于全科医生(GPs)在数字咨询方面的专业不确定性却知之甚少。这是个问题,因为许多国家都经历了广泛的数字转型。
本研究的目的是探讨丹麦全科医生在引入视频咨询后出现的专业不确定性。
2020年新冠疫情初期,我们对15名丹麦全科医生进行了定性访谈。采用归纳法对访谈进行分析。
我们确定了3类不确定性:完整性、环境和互动。这3类不确定性分别指:(1)与技术可能如何阻碍医疗保健提供相关的不确定性;(2)与视频技术的潜力相关的不确定性;(3)与视频咨询技术如何影响与患者的互动相关的不确定性。
丹麦全科医生所经历的不确定性似乎是对新技术引入的典型反应。将视频咨询技术融入全科医生的工作流程需要时间,而且全科医生不一定直观地觉得自己有能力转换自身能力,比如在视频介导的咨询中表现良好并展现出社交存在感。全科医生所经历的专业不确定性的异质性表明它们是个体全科医生与技术关系产生的结果,而非技术本身导致的。因此,我们不能期望通过改变或排除新技术来消除不确定性。