Patients diagnosed using EMAILS: NHS invest in new electronic GP consultations
Patients diagnosed using EMAILS: NHS invest in new
electronic GP consultations
NHS ENGLAND is to invest tens of millions of pounds in
electronic GP consultations, where patients are diagnosed using email, after
nationwide trials were hailed as a success.
By LUCY JOHNSTON AND NED KELLY, EXCLUSIVE 00:01, Sun, Aug
20, 2017
The £45million fund is set to be released this autumn
following trials of the service, which supporters say has seen many patients
avoiding the need to visit their practice altogether.
However the service has been criticised by some doctors
who say online consultations are only in place to cut costs at the expense of
patient safety. They say a virtual service will mean vital and potentially lifesaving
health information could be missed.
Currently over 400 doctor’s surgeries have been trialling
the new system and preliminary data shows the eConsultation service leads to as
many as 60 per cent fewer face-to-face family doctor visits because health
problems are resolved online or with a follow up call.
In most virtual surgery systems, a patient answers
questions online and their case is reviewed by a GP who decides what action to
take.
Research carried out by the Hurley Group, a collection of
London based GP practices, shows the new virtual system, which now covers over
3 million patients across the country, is able to handle up to 3 consultations
in 10 minutes – a third of the time it would take to see a doctor face-to-face.
In almost two thirds of cases the problem is resolved
online and typical cases could include repeat prescriptions, treatment for hay
fever, colds and flu.
In approximately 30 per cent of these cases patients need
to be called back by a doctor while in the remaining cases the patient is
called in for a face-to-face visit.
Most users are middle-aged with over forty per cent aged
between 45 and 64.
Separate data from NHS researchers shows the new online
consultation service is disproportionately used by patients with issues that
are more often seen as embarrassing, such as sexual or mental health problems
and contraception in what experts say is an example of “digital disinhibition”.
Dr Murray Ellender, a south London based GP who founded
e-Consult, the largest provider of NHS online GP services said: “This is not a
replacement for the traditional face-to-face consultation, but it can help
reduce demand and free us up for cases that need to be dealt with face-to-face.
"It is not the only answer to the problems in the
overstretched service, and in this day and age patients should be able to
interact with us online.”
He added: “It doesn’t mean we are dealing with things
faster, we are just making sure we can take longer for those who need it.”
Last week 33 Yorkshire practices across Hull and East
Riding became the latest to trial the electronic consultation system.
Alex Seale, director of the East Riding Clinical
Commissioning Group, said: “We are not trying to stop people seeing their GP,
but in this modern world it offers another option that many patients want.”
However some GP’s are angry about the new system.
Dr Kailash Chand, Vice President of British Medical
Association, said: “Medicine is not a perfect science – it's about
communication and probability and this cannot be done on an e-Consultation.
“The digital world is not the future for everything – a
headache could be simple or it could be a brain tumour.”
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