Choosing Video Instead of In-Clinic Consultations in Primary Care in Israel: Discrete Choice Experiment Among Key Stakeholders—Patients, Primary Care Physicians, and Policy Makers

Background: Despite its innovative benefits, the adoption of video consultations (VCs) in primary care settings is complex and slow. Objectives: To quantify the preferences of key stakeholders in Israel's primary care—patients, primary care practitioners, and policy makers—regarding VCs compared with traditional in-clinic consultations (ICC) in nonurgent conditions. Methods: Discrete choice experiment surveys were completed by 508 patients, 311 physicians, and 141 policy makers. These consisted of 12 choice tasks of 2 labeled alternatives (VC or ICC), with the 4 attributes most relevant to each stakeholder group. A random effects logit model analysis was used to estimate stakeholders' preferences. Results: All 4 experiments' attributes were significantly important in choosing VC versus ICC for the patient group and the physician group. Three out of 4 attributes were significantly important to policy makers. Differences and similarities between stakeholders were identified in attribute rank order, trade-offs, and VC uptake probabilities. Policy makers' VC uptake rate was 86%. Patients' preferences suggested that 68% of ICCs could be replaced by VCs. Physicians' VC uptake was 30% in cases in which the consultation purpose was to diagnose and provide treatment and 48% in cases in which the consultation purpose was follow-up. Conclusions: Our findings show key stakeholders' preferences about VC integration, to be considered when these systems are introduced into primary care and optimize the implementation process. Although there is a stronger preference for ICC among physicians and patients, alternative combinations of attribute levels might be used to compensate and reconfigure a more preferred VC service.