Table 5.
Associations between characteristics of patients and e-consultations and their perception of what they alternatively have done if e-consultations had not been available.
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Call front desk (n=5846) | Out-of-hours service (n=323) | Wait or seek information (n=609)a | |||||
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ORb (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | |||||
| Background patient characteristics | |||||||||
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Gender (reference: female) | ||||||||
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Male | 0.85*** (0.78-0.93) | 1.26 (0.98-1.63) | 0.94 (0.77-1.14) | ||||
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Age range (years; reference: ≥71) | ||||||||
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16-25 | 1.15 (0.91-1.45) | 1.44 (0.74-2.81) | 2.16*** (1.38-3.37) | ||||
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26-40 | 1.03 (0.85-1.24) | 1.07 (0.61-1.85) | 1.29 (0.89-1.86) | ||||
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41-55 | 0.91 (0.76-1.08) | 0.88 (0.52-1.51) | 0.75 (0.52-1.07) | ||||
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56-70 | 0.96 (0.80-1.16) | 0.90 (0.52-1.56) | 0.69* (0.47-1.0) | ||||
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Education (reference: university education)c | ||||||||
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Nonuniversity education | 1.12* (1.0-41.22) | 1.24 (0.98-1.58) | 0.99 (0.83-1.19) | ||||
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Number of GPd appointments in the last 12 months (reference: 1-3) | ||||||||
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4-9 | 1.07 (0.98-1.16) | 1.13 (0.87-1.47) | 1.02 (0.84-1.24) | ||||
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10-19 | 1.05 (0.90-1.22) | 1.31 (0.84-2.05) | 1.07 (.077-1.50) | ||||
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20 or more | 1.09 (0.77-1.55) | 2.75* (1.29-5.86) | 1.24 (0.59-2.59) | ||||
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Number of e-consultations in the last 12 months (reference: 1-3) | ||||||||
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4-9 | 1.06 (0.97-1.16) | 1.04 (0.79-1.38) | 1.01 (0.82-1.24) | ||||
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10-19 | 1.26** (1.10-1.44) | 1.33 (0.88-2.02) | 1.19 (0.87-1.62) | ||||
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20 or more | 1.30* (1.02-1.65) | 1.01 (0.49-2.07) | 1.45 (0.89-2.38) | ||||
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First time sending e-consultation (reference: no)e | ||||||||
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Yes | 1.00 (0.88-1.13) | 0.88 (0.61-1.27) | 0.90 (0.68-1.18) | ||||
| Availability of GP services | |||||||||
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Travel time to GP office (reference: less than 30 minutes) | ||||||||
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30-60 minutes | 0.97 (0.87-1.07) | 1.55* (1.17-2.05) | 1.01 (0.80-1.27) | ||||
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1-2 hours | 1.05 (0.86-1.29) | 2.22** (1.36-3.61) | 1.48 (0.99-2.22) | ||||
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>2 hours | 1.27 (0.92-1.76) | 6.08*** (3.46-10.66) | 2.19** (1.27-3.79) | ||||
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I usually get through on the phone to my doctor’s front desk (reference: neither agree nor disagree) | ||||||||
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Agree | 1.07 (0.98-1.18) | 0.99 (0.73-1.34) | 0.84 (0.68-1.03) | ||||
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Disagree | 1.03 (0.92-1.14) | 1.11 (0.82-1.51) | 0.96 (0.76-1.21) | ||||
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I usually get a GP appointment within a reasonable time (reference: neither agree nor disagree) | ||||||||
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Agree | 1.03 (0.93-1.14) | 0.58*** (0.43-0.77) | 1.04 (0.83-1.31) | ||||
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Disagree | 0.96 (0.85-1.09) | 0.91 (0.65-1.27) | 1.08 (0.81-1.43) | ||||
| Use of and access to e-consultations | |||||||||
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Received information about e-consultations (reference: info from HCPf)g | ||||||||
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No info from HCP | 1.11 (1.03-1.20) | 0.92 (0.72-1.17) | 1.46*** (1.20-1.78) | ||||
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Sending an e-consultation was my first choice (reference: neither agree nor disagree) | ||||||||
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Agree | 0.89 (0.78-1.01) | 1.19 (0.81-1.74) | 1.15 (0.85-1.54) | ||||
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Disagree | 1.07 (0.90-1.26) | 1.45 (0.91-2.30) | 0.81 (0.52-1.25) | ||||
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Expected response time (reference: between 48 hours and 5 days) | ||||||||
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Within 12 hours | 1.64*** (1.46-1.85) | 2.10*** (1.43-3.08) | 0.84 (0.65-1.08) | ||||
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Within 24 hours | 1.29*** (1.14-1.45) | 1.35 (0.91-2.01) | 0.77* (0.60-0.99) | ||||
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Within 48 hours | 1.03 (0.90-1.17) | 0.66 (0.40-1.09) | 0.70** (0.53-0.92) | ||||
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Getting e-consultation for free (reference: don’t know) | ||||||||
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Yes | 0.72*** (0.62-0.84) | 0.67 (0.40-1.11) | 0.73 (0.51-1.04) | ||||
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No | 0.71*** (0.64-0.78) | 0.84 (0.62-1.12) | 0.73* (0.59-0.90) | ||||
| Characteristics of the problem handled in e-consultation | |||||||||
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How concerned were you about the issue? (reference: somewhat worried) | ||||||||
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Not worried | 1.29*** (1.18-1.40) | 0.76 (0.55-1.05) | 1.28* (1.06-1.55) | ||||
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Very worried | 1.02 (0.90-1.14) | 2.71*** (2.07-3.54) | 0.88 (0.67-1.1) | ||||
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Do you think the GP will ask for a physical examination? (reference: don’t know) | ||||||||
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Yes | 1.02 (0.92-1.14) | 1.06 (0.80-1.41) | 0.76* (0.60-0.98) | ||||
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No | 1.37*** (1.26-1.49) | 0.70* (0.52-0.95) | 1.05 (0.86-1.29) | ||||
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Reason for sending e-consultations | ||||||||
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Sick certification or other certification | 1.07 (0.98-1.16) | 0.94 (0.72-1.25) | 0.31*** (0.24-0.39) | ||||
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New problem | 0.94 (0.85-1.03) | 2.71*** (2.09-3.51) | 1.74*** (1.43-2.12) | ||||
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Former known problem | 0.62*** (0.57-0.68) | 0.71* (0.54-0.92) | 0.69*** (0.57-0.84) | ||||
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Medicine use | 1.04 (0.92-1.17) | 0.96 (0.65-1.40) | 1.16 (0.91-1.48) | ||||
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Test results | 1.31*** (1.13-1.52) | 0.53* (0.29-0.97) | 1.27 (0.93-1.74) | ||||
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Ask if needed to order an appointment | 0.97 (0.84-1.11) | 1.13 (0.79-1.63) | 0.90 (0.67-1.22) | ||||
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Answer question from GP | 1.11 (0.90-1.38) | 1.20 (0.64-2.25) | 1.54* (1.01-2.33) | ||||
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Proxy user (reference: no) | ||||||||
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Yes | 1.26** (1.09-1.45) | 1.59* (1.06-2.37) | 0.60* (0.42-0.84) | ||||
| Satisfaction with e-consultations | |||||||||
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How satisfied were you with sending the e-consultation today? (reference: neither satisfied nor dissatisfied) | ||||||||
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Satisfied | 0.74*** (0.66-0.83) | 0.49*** (0.36-0.66) | 0.79 (0.60-1.02) | ||||
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Not satisfied | 1.22 (0.92-1.61) | 0.84 (0.44-1.61) | 1.39 (0.77-2.52) | ||||
aThe dependent variable “wait or seek information” consists of two options: “Sought information on the internet for my problem” and “waited a while.”
bOR: odds ratio.
cVariable about education was merged into two categories: with or without university education.
dGP: general practitioner.
eWe constructed a dummy variable for first-time users based on the question “Are you a first-time user?”
fHCP: health care personnel.
gVariable about receiving information about service was merged into two categories: “Info from HCP” and “No info from HCP” including “found the service by myself,” “brochures, advertisements/other material,” “friends/family/colleagues,” and “other”
*P<.05, **P<.01, ***P<.001