Patients need to be able to consult their doctor online. Having to take half a day off work for a 10-minute consultation is a high price to pay when the technology exists that would allow it to be done online from the patient's home or work.
For some patients, the travel involved in getting to an appointment is harmful in itself. I have seen patients with physical disabilities in pain from the long distances they have had to travel to see their specialist. In a few cases, the appointment itself has risks patients can give each other infections when sat together in the same waiting room.
In my opinion, it's important to offer online consultations when they are appropriate. But for the best of reasons, many in the Healthcare providers remain deeply sceptical about consulting online. Time-pressed doctors and GPs are not sure what an online consultation actually is. They fear it might take up even more of their time.
Many doctors believe online consultation means sending emails – but we already know this doesn't work well. The back-and- forth nature of email means that getting detailed answers is slow and frustrating for doctor and patient alike. But we do know the right way to do online consultations: Our doctor will answer the queries as soon as possible, with in a day. We are trying for quick responses also within minutes but it will take little time to partner good physicians for it. We are committed to quality services.
The Mayo Clinic in the US found that online consultations could reduce the need for face-to- face appointments with GPs by 40%.
We tailors the detail of follow-on questions to the speciality of the clinician, for example asking more questions about breathing for a chest specialist than for a GP. One obvious downside of online appointments is that the doctor cannot examine the patient, but not every appointment requires an examination – and if the doctor feels one is necessary they can call the patient in.
In synchronous video consultations, a Skype conversation in the patient's home can give a doctor a valuable view of a patient's living conditions – information they might have previously missed
Online consultations allow more efficient and frequent interaction with a specialist and the advice received is available for sharing with the local GP. This completes the circle of care and means patients can access the best care wherever they live.
GPs and doctors must move away from thinking they are too busy to consult online – indeed, it is precisely because they are so busy that they need online consultations.
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