Going digital: evolution of the general practice receptionist role

Problem

General practice receptionists have one of the most visible roles within the primary care workforce, are often perceived as the ‘gatekeepers’ to primary care services and are central to managing patient demand and facilitating patient care. Whilst 50 years ago the receptionist role was centred around answering telephone calls, booking appointments, and greeting patients, this role has evolved and become increasingly complex. For instance, in recent years this role may now include the triaging of patients to identify appointments that are most appropriate for the patients concern. These developments have happened alongside technological advancements and the impact of National Health Service (NHS) systems and services becoming increasingly digital.

Approach

Data were collected as part of a large multi-method study on Digital Facilitation in primary care (Di-Facto). Focussed ethnographic case studies and interviews were conducted. Ethnographic data were collected from 8 practices in three regions across England (South West, East, and North West), which involved non-participant observation, document analysis, and interviews with 33 patients and 36 staff (including receptionists, managers, administrative and clinical staff). Interviews were also conducted with 19 stakeholders who held senior roles within the NHS, patient group charities, local Clinical Commissioning Groups or Integrated Care Systems, primary care online consultation platforms, and senior academics.

Findings

General practice is undergoing an extended period of transformation from paper towards digital systems, with the current transition period requiring both to be used. This involves changes to systems used by practice staff and also patients, both of which impact the receptionist role and their responsibilities. In some cases the digital transition reduces workload for receptionists (e.g. patients being able to order repeat prescriptions online, book appointments themselves, sending mass communications to patients by text), but in others it increases the workload (e.g. inputting data from paper into digital systems, answering queries from patients about the digital systems, obtaining further information from patients about their conditions for health professionals to triage). This is also largely navigated by the receptionists without any formal training and staff are mostly expected to learn on the job from other receptionists.

Consequences

The digitalisation of healthcare services has implications for workflow, consistency in task completion, job satisfaction and potentially retention of general practice receptionist staff. In addition, the knowledge and skills required to fulfil this role are evolving and therefore may have recruitment and training implications.