How general practitioners and patients discuss type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases concerns during consultations: implications for digital health

Urvashi Rohilla*, Jayashanthi P. Ramarao, Jared Lane, Neha N. Khatri, Jim Smith, Kathleen Yin, Annie Lau

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Objective: To analyse general practitioner–patient consultations about type 2 diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular diseases and describe (i) the nature of self-management discussions; (ii) actions required from patients during and after consultation regarding self-management; and (iii) implications for digital health to support patients during (and after) consultation.
Method: This study screened 281 general practitioner consultations conducted in 2017 within the UK general practice setting from an existing dataset containing videos and transcripts of consultations between GPs and patients. Secondary analysis was conducted using a multi-method approach, including descriptive, content, and visualisation analysis, to inform the nature of self-management discussions, what actions are required from patients, and whether digital technology was mentioned during the consultation to support self-management.
Results: Analysis of eligible 19 consultations revealed a discord between what self-management actions are required of patients during and after consultations. Lifestyle discussions are often discussed in depth, but these discussions rely heavily on subjective inquiry and recall. Some patients in these cohorts are overwhelmed by self-management, to the detriment of their personal health. Digital support for self-management was not a major topic of discussion, however, we identified a number of emergent gaps where digital technology can support self-management concerns.
Conclusion: There is potential for digital technology to reconcile what actions are required of patients during and after consultations. Furthermore, a number of emergent themes around self-management have implications for digitalisation.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-19
Number of pages19
JournalDigital Health
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Jul 2023

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2023. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

  • General practitioner–patient consults
  • digital health
  • self-management
  • diabetes
  • cardiovascular diseases
  • telehealth
  • mixed methods

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