Patients' experience with German primary care practices during Covid-19: an interview study

Area of Science:

• General Practice
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• COVID-19 significantly altered patient access and communication with German primary care practices (PCPs).
• Mandatory regulations included closed waiting rooms and appointment-only consultations, impacting patient-physician interactions.
• The pandemic's effect on primary care attendance and patient experiences remained unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore patient perceptions of primary care in Germany during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
• Focus on patients with frequent primary care utilization prior to the pandemic.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 17 semi-structured interviews between January and June 2021.
• Participants were frequent primary care patients from two German regions.
• Content analysis was used to analyze interview data.

Main Results:

• Four key themes emerged: fear of COVID-19 infection, practice organization, COVID-19 information, and telemedicine.
• Patients generally felt safe from infection within practices and agreed with regulations, despite some discomfort with outdoor waiting.
• Telemedicine views were divided; some patients were receptive to telephone or video consultations, while others rejected them outright.

Conclusions:

• Patients perceived COVID-19 regulations in primary care settings as reasonable.
• Telemedicine, including telephone and video consultations, warrants further investigation, acknowledging varied patient acceptance.