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Telemedicine has arrived in the NHS. The pandemic has seen a dramatic shift in the provision of healthcare, away from in-person appointments and towards remote arrangements. While this might appear to be a temporary measure for social-distancing purposes, at the end of last month, the health secretary Matt Hancock, said the changes are here to stay. The UK needs “more Zoom medicine,” he said, telling the Royal College of Physicians that “from now on, all consultations should be teleconsultations unless there’s a compelling clinical reason not to”.
While Covid-19 has catalysed the shift towards telemedicine, it is not the cause. The virtualisation of healthcare has been on the cards for some time, and a small but non-negligible group of NHS patients were already receiving care through e-consulting apps such as Livi and Babylon. But the scale of the change is significant and unexpected, with GPs reporting that a transition that they had imagined would take years had in effect happened within just a few weeks.
Doctors’ and patients’ groups are not convinced. Martin Marshall, head of the Royal College of General Practitioners, told the BBC that “remote consultations, whether by telephone or video, won’t be suitable for everyone,” while Mencap have warned that the proposals could be disastrous for those with learning disabilities. And yet the government persists.
www.theguardian.com
While Covid-19 has catalysed the shift towards telemedicine, it is not the cause. The virtualisation of healthcare has been on the cards for some time, and a small but non-negligible group of NHS patients were already receiving care through e-consulting apps such as Livi and Babylon. But the scale of the change is significant and unexpected, with GPs reporting that a transition that they had imagined would take years had in effect happened within just a few weeks.
Doctors’ and patients’ groups are not convinced. Martin Marshall, head of the Royal College of General Practitioners, told the BBC that “remote consultations, whether by telephone or video, won’t be suitable for everyone,” while Mencap have warned that the proposals could be disastrous for those with learning disabilities. And yet the government persists.
Why 'Zoom medicine' is not the answer to all our ills | Josh Hall
App-happy Matt Hancock wants telemedicine to be the new norm. But many chronically ill people depend on face-to-face care, says technology writer Josh Hall
www.theguardian.com