Using Information And Communication Technologies To Consult With Patients In Primary Care:the Views Of Shanghai Family Doctors

Background:Conventional ICT like phones and text messaging has demonstrated positive benefit in primary health care service, however, little research were concentrated on the attitude of family doctors when they have ICT-mediated consultation with their patients.Objective:The aims of the study were to investigate the current situation about family doctors’ communication with their patients via ICT and to explore their attitudes and experience of conventional and new ICT. Discuss and analyze if they want to import new ICT into community health care and provide evidence for the application of new ICT-mediated consultation.Method:This research adopted the method of cross-sectional survey. Firstly,21 family doctors were randomly selected to have face-to-face interviews from 13 community health services and different regions in Shanghai. In terms of the results from interview records, we formulate a questionnaire,153 family doctors from 10 community health services were randomly chosen to fill out the questionnaires.Results:Although face-to-face consultation was seen as main content of primary care, many family doctors were conditionally willing to apply routine technologies like phones and text messaging to consult with patients, especially medical and disease consulting, carrying out management of chronic disease,follow-up disease.At the same time, most family doctors are considering to use new ICT like public information platform in the future, and therefore maximize practice efficiency and patient convenience. Key considerations were access to appropriate salaries, IT support, policy support and medico-legal guidance.Conclusions:Shanghai family doctors are conditionally willing to use conventional and emerging ICT-mediated consultation if policy support, legal guarantee and relevant information technology are available.