COMPUTER USE BY GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS IN SCOTLAND

Background. Despite the widespread adoption by general practitioners ( GPs) of desktop computers, there has been very little evaluation of th e way in which the computer is actually used during consultations and the way in which it affects patient satisfaction. Aim. To ascertain th e extent to which the computer is used in the consultation and to inve stigate the possible relationship between computer use and patient sat isfaction. Method. Six GPs completed a short questionnaire about the e xtent to which they use the computer during surgeries. Eighty-four con sultations from the surgeries of these GPs were Video recorded. Patien t satisfaction data on these 84 patients were collected at the time of the surgery using the previously validated Consultation Satisfaction Questionnaire. Results. All six GPs stated that they usually used the computer during consultations. However, video observation revealed tha t the computer was used in just 51% of surgeries. The proportion of ti me that the computer was used for varied from 0.03 to 0.4, with a mean value of 0.12. The commonest function for which the computer was used was prescribing. The consultations in which the computer was used (CU ) were on average 148 seconds longer than the non-computerized consult ations (NCU). There was no difference in patient satisfaction between the two groups. Conclusion. Despite this group of GPs having a self-de clared interest in the use of computers, the extent to which the compu ter was used was much lower than expected from the GPs' self-reported use. This may be partly explained by the fact that using the computer takes up valuable time within the consultation and does not appear to contribute to patient satisfaction. If desktop computers are to be use d to their full potential in general practice, more work is required t o evaluate their impact on the consultation process itself.