Every patient in England should be able to speak to their GP online or via video by 2024
EVERY patient in England should be able to speak to their GP online or via video by 2024 under revolutionary tech plans unveiled by the Health Secretary.
But the move sparked fears using an app for an appointment will exclude more challenging patients like the elderly and mentally ill in favour of healthier patients who are easier to treat.
As part of an IT shake-up to get rid of “outdated” systems, Matt Hancock’s state-of-the-art vision also includes revamping how patient’s GP records are stored.
This would see them being sent to the virtual “cloud” so medics can access them in “real time”.
It would mean paramedics, nurses and doctors would know immediately what medication a patient is on, or what tests results they may have had or need.
But it also triggered concerns tech giants like Google could begin investing in the health service.
In an announcement yesterday the Department for Health confirmed they want all patients in England to be able to access GP services digitally with practices offering online or video consultations.
But Britain’s top GP Helen Stokes-Lampard has already voiced fears NHS apps could see patients being “cherry-picked” and increase pressures on traditional GPs.
Under new guidelines Mr Hancock also wants to overhaul GP IT systems bringing in new tech firms to invest in primary care services.
Old ways of logging appointments, managing diaries and receiving test results will be ditched and replaced with more sophisticated technology from NHS Digital.
And all systems will have to meet minimum standards to ensure they can communicate across different platforms and be able to be continuously updated.
Last night Matt Hancock said: “Too often the IT used by GPs in the NHS - like other NHS technology - is out of date: it frustrates staff and patients alike, and doesn’t work well with other NHS systems. This must change.
“I love the NHS and want to build it to be the most advanced health and care system in the world – so we have to develop a culture of enterprise in the health service to allow the best technology to flourish.
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“I want to empower the country’s best minds to develop new solutions to make things better for patients, make things better for staff, and make our NHS the very best it can be.”
Sarah Wilkinson, chief executive at NHS Digital added: “The next generation of IT services for primary care must give more patients easy access to all key aspects of their medical record and provide the highest quality technology for use by GPs.
“They must also comply with our technology standards to ensure that we can integrate patient records across primary care, secondary care and social care.”
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