Remote Consultations in General Practice in Ireland: Who Is Missing Out?

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• General Practice
• Public Health

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote consultations in healthcare.
• Understanding trends and characteristics of remote consultation use is crucial for healthcare policy.
• The "Healthy Ireland" survey provides nationally representative health data in Ireland.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the characteristics associated with remote general practitioner (GP) consultations in Ireland.
• To analyze trends in remote consultation use during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To identify demographic and socioeconomic factors influencing remote consultation uptake.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of three waves (2020/2021, 2021/2022, 2022/2023) of the "Healthy Ireland" survey.
• Inclusion of individuals aged 15+ who consulted a GP in the prior 4 weeks.
• Logistic regression to assess associations between remote consultations and variables like age, gender, insurance, and socioeconomic status.

Main Results:

• A substantial decrease in remote consultations from 39% in 2020/2021 to 10% in 2022/2023.
• Female gender, private health insurance, and long-term health conditions were positively associated with remote consultations.
• Older age groups showed a negative association with the likelihood of remote consultations.

Conclusions:

• The high prevalence of remote GP consultations during the pandemic was not sustained post-pandemic.
• Healthcare policymakers must address gender, age, and insurance-based disparities in digital health utilization.
• Further investigation into the reasons for declining remote consultation use is warranted.