Patients get more technology-savvy

Six in ten Britons have used technology to access healthcare, according to a study of 1,014 British adults carried out by on-demand video GP consultation service, PushDoctor.co.uk.

One in five have communicated with a GP online, 27% would do so if it meant they could have an immediate or same day appointment, and 26% if they couldn’t travel to their GP surgery.

Ordering repeat prescriptions (29%), is the most popular way of using technology to access healthcare services and 17% have used video consultation services to speak to a GP.

Convenience is leading this step change, with 30% claiming they would consult a GP via video if it meant they could have an appointment when they wanted.

Dr Adam Simon, chief medical officer at PushDoctor.co.uk, said: ‘Clearly, there is significant demand among patients for new pathways to healthcare which work better for them, and are more in keeping with the ways they manage other areas of their lives.

‘Such technologies are being gradually introduced into the healthcare industry in the UK, but, looking at this data, there is a need to speed up this process.

‘In introducing this greater level of convenience and choice, providers will be better equipped to help a greater number of patients, while bringing access to healthcare more in line with the ways other industries have modernised over the past five to ten years.’

Company founder Eren Ozagir said most patients appreciated the need for innovations to get quicker and more convenient advice.

• See ‘Going mobile’