Newbould Jennifer, Bryce Carol, Stockwell Stephanie, Treadgold Bethan, Campbell John, Marriott Christine, Pitchforth Emma, Sheard Laura, Winder Rachel, Atherton Helen
RAND Europe, Cambridge.
Unit of Academic Primary Care, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry.
Br J Gen Pract. 2025 Mar 11. doi: 10.3399/BJGP.2024.0137.
In England online services in general practice encompass a range of provision from ordering repeat medication to having a consultation. Some groups of individuals may find accessing and/or using such services difficult and may require 'digital facilitation', that is the range of processes, procedures, and personnel which seeks to support NHS patients in their uptake and use of online services.
To gain insight, from the perspective of general practice staff and patients/carers, into how and why digital facilitation might lead to benefits, and the key processes involved in supporting patients to use online services.
Eight general practices across England with varied geographical and sociodemographic characteristics were included in the study.
This was a focused ethnographic case study of observations and interviews ( = 69).
Typically, digital facilitation was delivered in an fashion to individual patients. Online services were delivered via multiple systems each working differently and creating a need for support so that patients could access them. Younger practice staff were expected to deliver support on account of their age, despite there being no evidence of age-related training and experience. It was understood by practice staff that patients with challenging personal circumstances may require specific support to access online services.
At present patient use of online services is supported by digital facilitation that is primarily delivered by reception staff. Supporting patients to use online services requires review of how many services are provided and what for, and consideration for the time and effort needed to support patients to use them.
在英格兰，全科医疗中的在线服务涵盖了从订购重复用药到进行会诊等一系列服务。一些人群可能会发现访问和/或使用此类服务存在困难，可能需要“数字协助”，即旨在支持国民保健制度（NHS）患者采用和使用在线服务的一系列流程、程序和人员。
从全科医疗工作人员以及患者/护理人员的角度，深入了解数字协助如何以及为何能带来益处，以及支持患者使用在线服务所涉及的关键流程。
该研究纳入了英格兰各地具有不同地理和社会人口特征的8家全科诊所。
这是一项聚焦的人种志案例研究，包括观察和访谈（共69次）。
通常，数字协助以个性化方式提供给个体患者。在线服务通过多个系统提供，每个系统的工作方式不同，因此需要提供支持以便患者能够访问这些服务。尽管没有与年龄相关的培训和经验的证据，但年轻的诊所工作人员因其年龄被期望提供支持。诊所工作人员明白，个人情况具有挑战性的患者可能需要特定支持才能访问在线服务。
目前，患者对在线服务的使用得到了主要由接待人员提供的数字协助的支持。支持患者使用在线服务需要审视提供了多少服务以及提供这些服务的目的，同时要考虑支持患者使用这些服务所需的时间和精力。
