Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Aug 19, 2025
Date Accepted: Nov 19, 2025
Digital Information Sharing Before Consultations in General Practice: Protocol for a Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Digital tools that enable patients to submit information before consultations—such as Accurx and eConsult—are increasingly used in general practice. These systems aim to streamline workflows, improve documentation and optimise consultation efficiency. However, evidence about their implementation, impact on health inequalities and healthcare outcomes remains limited and fragmented.
Objective:
To map and synthesise the evidence on digital tools used for pre-consultation information sharing in family/general practice.
Methods:
This scoping review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute framework and the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. Searches were conducted on May 12, 2025, in MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), and the Cochrane Library. Grey literature will be identified via Google Scholar and NHS/government websites. Eligible studies will describe or evaluate digital tools used to collect information from patients before general practice consultations. Two independent reviewers will conduct screening and data extraction. Data will be analysed using narrative synthesis.
Results:
Database searches identified 6,991 records, with 4,536 remaining after deduplication. Screening began in June 2025. Full-text screening will be completed by September 2025, with data extraction and synthesis planned for completion by December 2025. Results will be submitted for publication in early 2026.
Conclusions:
This review will summarise evidence concerning the use of digital tools for pre-consultation information sharing in general practice. Findings will inform implementation, research priorities and service improvement in digitally supported care. Clinical Trial: N/A
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