Use of digital communication tools among GPs pre- and post-COVID-19 in Italy 2020

During the COVID-19 emergency in Italy many patients in need of care and consulting could not access health services the way they used to in the past. For this reason, digital communication channels have become central in the interaction between patients and doctors, in particular general practitioners. According to a survey conducted in June 2020 among general practitioners in Italy, 82 percent of respondents reported that they used emails to communicate with patients. This figure reached 91 percent when including general practitioners interested in implementing this communication method. On the other hand, only four percent of GPs said that they used collaboration platforms such as Skype. In this case, this figure reached 38 percent when including also GPs who showed interested in the introduction of this kind of tools in the future.