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‘Get used to the fact that some of the care is really going to take place in a different way’: general practitioners’ experiences with e-health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meurs, M., Keuper, J., Sankatsing, V., Batenburg, R., Tuyl, L. van. ‘Get used to the fact that some of the care is really going to take place in a different way’: general practitioners’ experiences with e-health during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: 2022, 19(9)
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Objective
The first outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the introduction of the more extensive use of e-health in Dutch general practices. The objective of this study was to investigate the experiences of general practitioners (GPs) regarding this change. In addition, the necessary conditions for e-health technology to be of added value to general practices were explored.

Method
In April 2020, 30 GPs were recruited for in-depth interviews via a web survey which contained questions regarding the use of e-health during the first wave of the pandemic.

Findings
While most GPs intend to keep using e-health applications more extensively than before the pandemic, the actual use of e-health depends on several factors, including the characteristics of the application's users. The following conditions for successful and sustainable implementation of e-health were identified: (1) integration of e-health technology in the organization of GP care, (2) sufficient user-friendliness of applications as well as digital skills of professionals and patients, and (3) adequate technological and financial support of e-health services.

Conclusion
GPs clearly recognize the benefits of using e-health, and most GPs intend to keep using e-health applications more extensively than before the pandemic. However, improvements are needed to allow widespread and sustainable adoption of e-health technology in general practices.