What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to describe and analyze changes in patient consultations in general practice before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

May 15, 2026Open Access

Patient contacts in general practice before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic – a Danish cohort study

JNJesper Bo NielsenRoskilde University HAHelene Stoettrup AndersenUniversity of Southern Denmark

Key Points

This research aims to describe and analyze changes in patient consultations in general practice before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cohort study involving 19,906 patients from 7 Danish GP clinics.
Comparison of visiting frequency, consultation types, and contact personnel across three periods: pre-pandemic, during, and post-pandemic.
Data collected over three 12-month periods from February 2019 to March 2023.
Annual clinical contacts per patient returned to pre-COVID-19 levels at 6.5 contacts/year.
Phone consultations accounted for 32.3% of total contacts, reverting to pre-pandemic levels.
Email consultations increased to 20.7%, and 79.3% of encounters are now managed by non-GP clinical staff.

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic induced several significant changes within general practice related to visiting frequency, types of consultations, and clinical staff managing patient contacts. It is relevant to study if these changes related to patient consultations continue after COVID-19 restrictions have ended. Aim To describe and discuss changes in the services offered by general practice to their patients during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Design & setting A cohort study including 19.906 patients from 7 Danish GP clinics followed for three full 12 months periods before (February 2019 - January 2020), during (April 2020 - March 2021), and after the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2022 – March 2023). Method Visiting frequency, consultation type (face-to-face, email, phone), and contact persons (GP or their clinical staff, eg, nurses) were compared during the three observation years. Results The number of annual clinical contacts per patient (6.5 contacts/year) as well as the fraction of consultations being on the phone (32.3%) are back to pre-COVID-19 levels, whereas the increased fraction of contacts by email (20.7%) and increased fraction of encounters managed by the non-GP clinical staff (79.3%) observed during the pandemic has remained also after the pandemic period. Conclusion The general practice that patients meet today is different from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Face-to-face consultations are fewer, e-mail consultations have become more frequent, and a greater proportion of patient encounters are managed by non-GP clinical staff such as nurses. Studies on patient satisfaction related to these changes are needed.

Ask AI

Helpful

Bookmark

View Full Paper