Remote by Default 2 project resources
The Remote by Default 2 project has created a number of additional resources and outputs which complement the published academic outputs from this study.
Resources for practices
Outline competencies and capabilities
In remote general practice providing telephone, video or on-line consultations or triage is a new skill for many clinicians and support staff. This document sets out competencies for established clinicians, trainees and support staff.
Evidence brief ‘Making Remote General Practice Safer’
Intended to accompany practice-based training in improving the safety of remote encounters. Includes a handy list of conditions and circumstances where a face-to-face encounter may be preferable, as well as a summary of research findings on safety and the competencies and capabilities document.
Fictional case vignettes for team training on patient safety in remote general practice
These vignettes, based on real safety incidents but fictionalised to protect anonymity, are designed to help practices identify and address system issues (e.g. suboptimal workflows or processes) in remote patient care.
At-a-glance summaries of some key findings:
Findings about quality of care
As well as equity and safety (covered separately), healthcare quality includes effectiveness, efficiency, timeliness and patient-centredness. The RBD2 study showed that there were sometimes trade-offs between these different dimensions of quality (e.g. between efficiency and patient-centredness).
Findings about continuity
Traditionally, continuity was defined in terms of a long-term personal relationship between a GP and a patient. Contemporary general practice (digitally-supported and multidisciplinary) needs an expanded definition, including continuity of the digital record and of the illness episode.
Findings about training needs
General practice staff need to know how technologies work, but also how to use these technologies in the context of multidisciplinary team care and complex workflows.
Getting the best out of the new world of remote and digital general practice.
This web briefing (with downloadable pdf) from the Nuffield Trust provides a quick overview for policymakers of key RBD2 findings
Findings about patient access
Accessing general practice requires the patient to navigate a web of organisations, people, and technologies. This resource summaries how the assumptions made by technologies can introduce, compound, and reinforce inequities in access to care.
Findings about patient safety
Remote care in general practice is remarkably safe—but very rarely, harm can occur. The RBD2 study showed how a systems approach (optimising processes and pathways and empowering front-line staff to make judgements) can reduce safety incidents further.
Findings about staff stress
Staff working in a high-pressure, heavily digitalised setting can experience ‘technostress’. The RBD2 study identified triggers for techno-stress and some approaches for reducing it in individual staff members and teams.
Visual minutes of our end of project workshop
The changing face of remote access to primary care in the UK’ held at Green Templeton College, Oxford, on 5th July 2024.
Resources for patients and the lay public
How to get the most out of your telephone appointment.
This resource summarises key points for patients to consider in advance of having a telephone appointment with their doctor.
General Practice in a Digital World: Public Webinar on the Remote by Default 2 study findings
The RBD2 team share the key findings from their study in a session chaired by Lisa Drake. Themes explored include contemporary general practice, care navigation, patient access to care, patient safety in remote consultations, infrastructure and technology and workforce issues including education and training