Translating in-person care to telehealth: a secondary analysis of GP consultations on musculoskeletal conditions

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid transition to telehealth, particularly in general practice where continuous care for chronic conditions, such as musculoskeletal (MSK), is provided.

Aim: To determine the appropriateness of telehealth for MSK conditions by identifying whether in-person tasks can be supported remotely via telehealth.

Design & setting: This study is a secondary analysis of the Harnessing Resources from the Internet (HaRI) dataset. This dataset comprises of 281 videos of recorded GP consultations. The dataset includes 10 GPs, across eight separate clinics, and was collected during 2017 in the UK.

Method: Content analysis was conducted to identify the clinical tasks, physical examinations, and physical artefacts used during the consultations. A scoring method applying two key metrics was developed to assess the translatability of clinical tasks to telehealth.

Results: Across the 31 MSK consultations analysed, 12 clinical tasks, five physical examinations, and 12 physical artefacts were observed. Of clinical tasks, 17% ( n = 2/12) were deemed to be 'easily translatable over telehealth' and 50% ( n = 6/12) were deemed 'relatively easy to be translated over telehealth'. Only 17% ( n = 2/12) of tasks were rated 'moderately translatable over telehealth', and 17% ( n = 2/12) were deemed 'potentially translatable over telehealth'. No clinical tasks in this study were categorised as untranslatable to telehealth. The average telehealth translatability score was 7.1/10.

Conclusion: Most clinical tasks observed during in-person GP consultations with patients with MSK conditions are translatable to telehealth. Further research is necessary to investigate the long-term efficacy and safety of telehealth utilisation for MSK conditions in primary care.