Disparities in the use of remote general practice consultations: learning from the COVID-19 pandemic, an analysis of 19 million electronic health records using OpenSAFELY
Longitudinal study shows variations in remote consultations by gender and social deprivation, indicating significant health inequalities.
Key Points
Remote consultations increased from 10.1 million to 32.7 million annually during the pandemic, highlighting a substantial shift in service delivery.
The analysis utilized binomial regression models to investigate the influence of age, gender, social deprivation, and ethnicity on consultation patterns.
Older adults aged 85+ had the highest probability of remote consultation pre-pandemic, while younger adults showed the greatest increase during the pandemic.
Significant disparities were found in consultation access based on gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity, calling for targeted service improvements.