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From telehealth to virtual primary care in Australia? A Rapid scoping review
- Source :
- International Journal of Medical Informatics. 151:104470
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2021.
-
Abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic impacts have disrupted our health systems and society. We sought to examine informatics and digital health strategies that supported the primary care response to COVID-19 in Australia. Specifically, the review aims to answer: how Australian primary health care responded and adapted to COVID-19, the facilitators and inhibitors of the Primary care informatics and digital health enabled COVID-19 response and virtual models of care observed in Australia. METHODS: We conducted a rapid scoping review complying with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews guidelines. Two reviewers independently performed the literature search, data extraction, and synthesis of the included studies. Any disagreement in the eligibility screening, data extraction or synthesis was resolved through consensus meeting and if required. was referred to a third reviewer. Evidence was synthesised, summarised, and mapped to several themes that answer the research question s of this review. RESULTS: We identified 377 papers from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Embase. Following title, abstract and full-text screening, 29 eligible papers were included. The majority were "perspectives" papers. The dearth of original research into digital health and COVID-19 in primary care meant limited evidence on effectiveness, access, equity, utility, safety, and quality. Data extraction and evidence synthesis identified 14 themes corresponding to 3 research questions. Telehealth was the key digital health response in primary care, together with mobile applications and national hotlines, to enable the delivery of virtual primary care and support public health. Enablers and barriers such as workforce training, digital resources, patient experience and ethical issues, and business model and management issues were identified as important in the evolution of virtual primary care. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 has transformed Australian primary care with the rapid adaptation of digital technologies to complement "in-person" primary care with telehealth and virtual models of care. The pandemic has also highlighted several literacy, maturity/readiness, and micro, meso and macro-organisational challenges with adopting and adapting telehealth to support integrated person-centred health care. There is a need for more research into how telehealth and virtual models of care can improve the access, integration, safety, and quality of virtual primary care.
- Subjects :
- medicine.medical_specialty
Telemedicine
020205 medical informatics
Health Informatics
02 engineering and technology
Telehealth
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Health care
Patient experience
0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
medicine
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Pandemics
Research question
Medical education
Primary Health Care
SARS-CoV-2
business.industry
Public health
Australia
COVID-19
Digital health
Systematic review
business
Psychology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 13865056
- Volume :
- 151
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal of Medical Informatics
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....047d3b15a5de62ce9a7393dbf4a827d5