Consultation Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Experience of Lithuanian Physicians.

ABSTRACT

Crises in the medicine sector such as the COVID-19 pandemic encourage the search for effective solutions for the provision of health care services, when conventional face-to-face consultations may be difficult to deliver effectively due to contact restrictions. The main objective of this study was to investigate consultation management provided by physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania. The dependence of diagnostic testing and vaccination of patients on the socio-demographic characteristics of physicians was also assessed. An anonymous survey was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, between 21 June 2021 and 17 September 2021, involving 191 physicians (9% of the total population) working in family physician teams in Lithuania. Thirty-nine Lithuanian Primary Health Care Institutions (PHCIs) were selected for this study, of which 11 were public and 28 were private. Private and public PHCIs employed 31% and 63% of the respondents, respectively, and 6% of respondents worked at both types of institutions. Concerning telemedicine, the physician-respondents frequently provided consultations over the telephone (79.6%) and in-person (63.9%), but less so via the Internet, with the latter option never being used at all by 57.1% of the respondents. Whilst telephone consultations were frequently provided by Lithuanian physicians, only half of the respondents chose to provide services over the Internet. Private, smaller, and rural-based PHCIs should more actively offer viral diagnostics and vaccination services.