DrDoctor - the new "patient portal" nobody's been told about

[John Gray]

Has anyone come across DrDoctor, a new method of telling you about appointments and providing information, which appears to be aimed at taking over some of the features of the NHS App/website? .

Part of their blurb reads:
"DrDoctor is the UK's leading Patient Engagement Platform used by over 24 million patients across. We partner with over 50 NHS Trusts and Health Boards to provide technology that supports patient communications, appointment management and remote care."
"You can access the Patient Portal using any smartphone, computer or tablet. There’s no need to sign up for an account or download any software, all you need to do is follow the secure link sent by your healthcare provider or visit drdoctor.thirdparty.nhs.uk and you can start managing your care online."

Although this has many of the appearances of a scam, it does seem that it is an official entity.
Does Diabetes UK know anything about it?

My initial reaction was, in the manner of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, "Who are these people?"
It does seem as if this could be Yet Another potential Way for hackers to be able to obtain large amounts of NHS patient data...

 

[Martin.A]

If you Google it it appears on several NHS Trust websites, eg https://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/about-us/using-drdoctor

 

[rebrascora]

Why do we need another one when there is already one in place?

 

[John Gray]

Why do we need another one when there is already one in place?

That's exactly what I thought initially - but I can think of a couple of reasons for a "new" "fresh" product:

• It can be extremely difficult for me as The Patient to obtain results from blood and/or urine tests, when these are required by a consultant, and not initiated by my local GP. My method until recently was to get the surgery to do the tests but my doctor got cheesed off with having to enter all the results onto the NHS App/website, and having to pass on the results to the consultant. Maybe DrDoctor will unify the data collection/viewing problem in its entirety?
• DrDoctor takes over the function of issuing appointment letters and moves the process online (only for those people who have opted for this)

Why can't the NHS App.website be modified to provide these functions? Your guess is as good as mine!
The history of NHS IT is pretty disastrous, though...

Presuming that DrDoctor is a commercial organisation, it does seems to be the thin edge of a privatising wedge.

 

[AJLang]

Moorfields use it for appointments and sometimes other correspondence

 

[John Gray]

If you Google it it appears on several NHS Trust websites, eg https://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/about-us/using-drdoctor

Indeed! My original post quotes DrDoctor as saying "We partner with over 50 NHS Trusts and Health Boards to provide technology that supports patient communications, appointment management and remote care."

My DrDoctor information shows my next nephrology Appointment, no Letters, and no Online Assessments (whatever they might be).

 

[Martin.A]

.

Presuming that DrDoctor is a commercial organisation, it does seems to be the thin edge of a privatising wedge.

Yes, they're a technology company used by NHS organisations and patients to manage appointments, communication and care delivery

 

[victorhamesse]

Deleted.

 

[Sally71]

My daughter’s diabetic team were using it during lockdown for video appointments; I could never get it to connect on my phone though so we always ended up just having a phone consultation instead! Don’t know whether the problem was my end or theirs, it’s been around for a few years now though

 

[Deb_l]

Presuming that DrDoctor is a commercial organisation, it does seems to be the thin edge of a privatising wedge.

Pretty much all NHS IT applications are outsourced to commercial companies and have been for years. There are some internal NHS developers but not many as the NHS cannot offer competitive salaries compared to private companies.

It has nothing to do with privatisation of the NHS. All of these companies, that want to work with the NHS, have to register with Crown commercial services to be eligible to work for public services. It's a massive undertaking for them to do this but the NHS kudos makes it worth their while. They are however never assured of a permanent NHS contract as all software and hardware contracts have to go out for re-tender every three years.

 

[John Gray]

Pretty much all NHS IT applications are outsourced to commercial companies and have been for years.

It would be very interesting to know why the NHS went down this new route, rather than updating/upgrading the current NHS App/website!
I don't suppose we will ever know this...

Whatever happens, it does seem that the ransomware / hackers now have an additional new and fruitful target for their nefarious work, and we can but hope that the security of DrDoctor is "spot on".

 

[helli]

It would be very interesting to know why the NHS went down this new route, rather than updating/upgrading the current NHS App/website!
I don't suppose we will ever know this...

Because it is not the NHS as a whole who outsource IT. It is the individual regions/CCGs or whatever they are called now.
The time to get agreement across all CCG thingies for NHS app additions would take too long so each one makes decisions that suit their needs when they need them.
And, having been on the supplier side of an NHS contract, i can confirm the security requirements are very stringent. More so than anyone else I have worked with.