Alternatives to the face-to-face consultation in general practice: focused ethnographic case study

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Description of case study sites

Practice reference	Size of practice	Location of practice	Deprivation categorisation and decile^a	Alternative to the face-to-face consultation used	Days spent in observation, n
A	18 353 registered patients	Inner city	Deprived 3	Telephone consultations, e-consultations,^b isolated use of email	25
B	8954 registered patients	Inner city	Deprived 3	Telephone consultations, isolated use of email	19
C	15 000 registered patients	Inner city	Mixed 4	Telephone consultations, e-consultations,^b isolated use of email	18
D	1938 registered patients	Rural	Mixed 5	Telephone, video	8
E	7196 registered patients	Inner city	Deprived 1	Telephone, e-consultations,^b isolated use of email	17
F	13 778 registered patients	Semi-rural	Affluent 10	Telephone, email	25
G	13 511 registered patients	Semi-rural	Mixed 6	Telephone, email	16
H	6597 registered patients	Inner city	Affluent 10	Telephone, email	11

↵a Practices A–C and F–H based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation rank. Practices E and F measured by percentage of practice patients living in data zones defined as the 15% most deprived in Scotland (population weighted).
↵b All those using e-consults in the study were piloting the use of the software for free.