Primary Care is facing enormous demand and capacity pressures. Technology has been heralded as part of the solution but its implementation has been far from plane sailing, and the loss of a traditional face-to-face GP service threatens the core values of primary care. Remote by Default 2: the new normal (RBD2) explores both the benefits and drawbacks of remote care and explores the potential models such as blended (remote and face-to-face) approaches.
RBD2 is an NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research Programme which builds on our previous study of in-pandemic remote care in UK general practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is led by Professor Trisha Greenhalgh from the University of Oxford and collaborates with the Nuffield Trust and Thrive by Design. The project follows 11 general practices for two years, exploring how they introduce, refine, and in some cases work around remote care solutions.
The project seeks to:
- develop tools to help clinicians assess people effectively by phone or video
- support the change process through action research, and
- strengthen the supporting infrastructure for digital innovation in the NHS.
Dr Sarah Rybczynska-Bunt and Professor Richard Byng are leading on the Plymouth sites, which will focus on the impact of remote by default on inequalities and work closely with the ‘Deep End’ group of practices.