Interviews about remote appointments
In 2020, we undertook 106 phone interviews to explore people's opinions of accessing health and social care services during the pandemic. In December 2020 we interviewed some of these people - Hear what they had to say about remote appointments.
Following 106 phone interviews, we wanted to explore in more detail what people thought about remote GP appointments.
During the telephone interviews with the 106 people, we found:
- Two-thirds of the people who had experienced a remote appointment found the experience to be a positive one - because it meant less travel, less time in the waiting room and a quicker appointment.
- Around one-third of people we spoke to who had experienced a remote appointment had some negative experience. These included not having a specific time for the appointment and generally not feeling able, or being too rushed, to fully explain their condition in a remote setting. Technological challenges and wasting time for an initial phone call when the need for a face-to-face appointment was obvious, were other concerns.
Our videos with a small group of these people show different opinions about, and some of the challenges with accessing health care remotely.
