RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Why do GPs rarely do video consultations? qualitative study in UK general practice JF British Journal of General Practice JO Br J Gen Pract FD British Journal of General Practice SP e351 OP e360 DO 10.3399/BJGP.2021.0658 VO 72 IS 718 A1 Trisha Greenhalgh A1 Emma Ladds A1 Gemma Hughes A1 Lucy Moore A1 Joseph Wherton A1 Sara E Shaw A1 Chrysanthi Papoutsi A1 Sietse Wieringa A1 Rebecca Rosen A1 Alexander Rushforth A1 Sarah Rybczynska-Bunt YR 2022 UL http://bjgp.org/content/72/718/e351.abstract AB Background Fewer than 1% of UK general practice consultations occur by video.Aim To explain why video consultations are not more widely used in general practice.Design and setting Analysis of a sub-sample of data from three mixed-method case studies of remote consultation services in various UK settings from 2019–2021.Method The dataset included interviews and focus groups with 121 participants from primary care (33 patients, 55 GPs, 11 other clinicians, nine managers, four support staff, four national policymakers, five technology industry). Data were transcribed, coded thematically, and then analysed using the Planning and Evaluating Remote Consultation Services (PERCS) framework.Results With few exceptions, video consultations were either never adopted or soon abandoned in general practice despite a strong policy push, short-term removal of regulatory and financial barriers, and advances in functionality, dependability, and usability of video technologies (though some products remained ‘fiddly’ and unreliable). The relative advantage of video was perceived as minimal for most of the caseload of general practice, since many presenting problems could be sorted adequately and safely by telephone and in-person assessment was considered necessary for the remainder. Some patients found video appointments convenient, appropriate, and reassuring but others found a therapeutic presence was only achieved in person. Video sometimes added value for out-of-hours and nursing home consultations and statutory functions (for example, death certification).Conclusion Efforts to introduce video consultations in general practice should focus on situations where this modality has a clear relative advantage (for example, strong patient or clinician preference, remote localities, out-of-hours services, nursing homes).