Video consultations are starting to soar

The video consultation platform can have many doctors online at the same time as well as having the ability to view scans with the patient (see picture below)

The Coronavirus spread has led to a surge in demand for digital consultations in specialist healthcare. Independent Practitioner Today traces the trend being experienced by the Trustedoctor platform.

The global spread of Corona­virus is leading to a surge in demand for digital consultations with specialist doctors in private practice.

Patients over 65 account for most patients needing to see cancer or other chronic disease specialists and they are also the group most at risk of being severely affected by Coronavirus. 

Conducting follow-up consultations online via a secure platform without the need to visit a hospital is a key route to avoiding infection and keeping people in this age group safe.

Patients concerned about infection are increasingly asking for digital consultations instead of having a face-to-face appointment and specialist doctors are turning to digital platforms to meet this demand. 

Prof Sotirios Bisdas, associate professor of neuroradiology at University College London and lead consultant neuroradiologist at The Nat­ional Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hosp­itals NHS Trust, found out about one platform, Trustedoctor, from a patient who asked him to use it in order to be accessible online.

Trustedoctor, which offers video-consultations between patients’ and their chosen specialist, says it has seen the number of doctors wanting to use its service soar in the past three months.