PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Mineva, Gabriela AU - Kiroplis, Irene AU - Rogers, Bethany AU - Pearl, Dana AU - Abohalima, Yasmin AU - O’Donnell, Patrick AU - MCCOOL, AOIBHIN AU - hayes, peter AU - Volz, Monika TI - Access to general practice during COVID-19-a cross-sectional view of the opinions of adults who use social media AID - 10.1370/afm.20.s1.3117 DP - 2022 Apr 01 TA - The Annals of Family Medicine PG - 3117 VI - 20 IP - Supplement 1 4099 - http://www.annfammed.org/content/20/Supplement_1/3117.short 4100 - http://www.annfammed.org/content/20/Supplement_1/3117.full SO - Ann Fam Med2022 Apr 01; 20 AB - Background/Aim: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual consultations have become commonplace, and access to healthcare more complex. The study was designed to examine the impact COVID-19 has had on access to general practice care in Ireland.Methods: A 25-question online survey was designed in Qualtrics®. Adult patients of Irish general practices were recruited via social media between October 2020 and February 2021 and volunteered their opinions.Results: 670 persons participated. Half of all doctor-patient consultations were now completed virtually-predominantly via telephone. Overall, 497 (78%) participants accessed their healthcare teams as scheduled, and without disruption. 18% of participants (n=104) reported difficulty in accessing their long-term medications; those who are younger, and those who typically attend general practice quarterly or more, were associated most with this disruption (p<0.05). Fifty-nine instances where a new health concern was subject to an appointment cancellation or rescheduling were reported.Conclusions: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Irish general practice has maintained its schedule for appointments in 78% of cases despite the challenges of the pandemic. Half of consultations were provided virtually; teleconsultation use was very infrequent. Maintaining the supply chain for long-term medications for patients remains a challenge during a pandemic. Authors accept that study participants were confined to those who use social media. A protocol may need to be designed by each practice to optimize the continuation of care and of medication schedules during any future pandemics.