JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Uncertainties are omnipresent in healthcare, but little is known about general practitioners’ (GPs) professional uncertainties concerning digital consultations. This is problematic, as many countries has undergone an extensive digital transformation.

Objective:

The aim of this article is to explore the professional uncertainities that emerged among Danish GPs with the introduction of video consultations.

Methods:

This study is based on qualitative interviews with 15 Danish GPs conducted during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The interviews were analyzed using an abductive approach.

Results:

We identified three categories of uncertainty: integrity, setting, and interaction. Respectively, these three categories of uncertainty refer to 1) uncertainties related to how technology may impede the provision of healthcare; 2) uncertainties related to the potentials of video technology; and 3) uncertainties related to how the video consultation technology affects interactions with patients.

Conclusions:

The uncertainties experienced by Danish GPs appear to be a typical reaction to the introduction of new technology. Embedding video consultation technology into GPs’ working routines will take time, and GPs do not necessarily feel intuitively capable of transferring their abilities to be, for instance, good and socially present GPs to video-mediated consultations. The heterogeneity of professional uncertainties experienced among the GPs suggests that they are the product of individual GP-technology relationships – not of the technology in itself. Consequently, we cannot expect that uncertainties can be remedied by changing or precluding new technology.