Appropriateness of video call consultations in a Dutch primary care setting

The pressure on healthcare is increasing worldwide. The trend toward digitalization in recent decades and the emergence of modern technologies have enabled remote treatment and offered patients new ways to interact with physicians. Despite numerous studies showing promising results in the use of video calls for primary care consultations, some survey studies report lingering doubts about the effectiveness of this method among general practitioners (GPs) and patients. Because the organization of health care varies widely across countries, we set out to investigate the appropriateness of video calling in a Dutch health care setting. Unlike many survey studies, we collected real-life data where GPs evaluated the video call directly after the consultation, allowing a more realistic assessment of perceived quality. We find that video calls are appropriate 84.2% (95% CI 80.3%-87.8%) of the time for consultations with patients of moderate to low urgency. Importantly, the appropriateness of video calls decreased with increasing urgency. These results build on previous studies and confirm the positive use cases of video calls focused on primary care in the Netherlands.