The OPTEL Study
The experience and perceptions of older people, their carers and their general practice teams in using a ‘telephone first’ approach for access to appointments (OPTEL): a qualitative study
‘Telephone first’ is a relatively new way for a patient to make an appointment with a doctor at their surgery. With ‘telephone first’ when you telephone to make an appointment the receptionist gets a doctor to call you back that day. The doctor then either deals with your problem over the telephone or asks you to come in and see them. Many GP practices were starting to use ‘telephone first’, and since the onset of COVID19 this number has substantially increased. At the moment we do not know much about how well ‘telephone first’ works. Some people think it helps to deal with lots of demand for appointments. Others think it makes it easier to get an appointment with a doctor. So far not many people have researched the effect it might have on patients. Older people are the group of adults who are most likely to need to make an appointment with a doctor. They often have lots of health conditions and needs, making them an important group to investigate. We will recruit eight general practices that are using ‘telephone first.’ We will find patients and/or their carers in these general practices who are aged 65 or older. The study objectives are to:
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Funded by: |
NIHR Research for Research Benefit |
Research team members: |
Associate Professor Helen Atherton - Principle Investigator Professor Jeremy Dale, Dr Carol Bryce, Dr Jo Fleming, Dr Jo Parsons Dr Jenny Newbold, RAND Europe Community Interest Company Mrs Gillian Grason Smith, Lay Co-applicant |
Collaborators: |
RAND Europe - co-applicant |
Dates: |
1st August 2020 – 31st July 2021 |
Enquiries: Dr Joanna Fleming
j dot l dot m dot fleming at warwick dot ac dot uk