New GP-Online app to offer remote consultations
Some doctors are set to begin offering remote consultations to patients who cannot make it to the surgery.
GPs are to bring out a new app which will allow a face-to-face consultation to take place without every having to leave the house.
GP-Online is at an advanced stage of development and will be formally unveiled at the Primary Care Partnership Conference and NAGP AGM at the end of this month.
Patients will be able to deal with their own GP by scheduling an appointment through the app’s booking system.
The service means that both patients and doctors will be able to deal with a wide range of medical issues, which make up the majority of health complaints seen in general practice, but without patients having to make the trip to the practice.
If a physical examination or blood and other tests are subsequently needed, patients will be able to upgrade to a GP practice visit.
If a prescription is needed it can be issued electronically to any pharmacy.
The cost of the service to patients will be set by each GP, but is expected to be considerably lower than the current cost of an appointment.
Speaking of the announcement the project’s director Dr Michael McConville said: "While medicine and how we treat patients has dramatically evolved and improved over decades, the fundamentals of the support and care GPs offer patients have not changed.
"However, technological advancements have meant that how we communicate and interact with our patients and vice versa is changing rapidly, and those patient-driven changes will impact how GPs deliver their primary care service in the future.
"The new service will be very convenient for patients short on time, but will be particularly useful for those that are immobile and unwell as it will mean that they will not have to leave their own home."
