How Telephone & Video GP Appointments Have Surged During The Coronavirus Pandemic

The latest National Health Service (NHS) figures show that some 48 percent of GP appointments in the UK during May 2020 were conducted over the telephone. The same is also true of video calls (facilitated via electronic devices), which have also surged since spring of last year, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. However, many people believe that even when all of the draconian restrictions that have been placed on us are removed, the trend for GP appointments to be online in the UK and telephone based will remain for good.

Prior to the imposition of various lockdowns in the UK, just 14 percent of GP appointments were carried out remotely i.e. where the patient was not physically present at the clinic / practice. The rise in what is being dubbed as “telemedicine” has come even despite the backdrop of falling visits to GPs across the entirety of the country and throughout the entirety of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Here to stay?

A recent piece of research that was conducted by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that “telemedicine” is more than just a trend and is likely to be a practice that will stay with us even safer the coronavirus pandemic has been and gone. Of the GPs that were involved in the study, 95 percent of them stated that they are currently providing “telemedicine” services and some 88 percent of them wanting to use it more frequently in the future. 

This way of conducting consultations is not only typically more convenient for patients, as they can even take a call at work, but also has much less of an impact on the environment, as there is no requirement for them then to drive or travel on public transport to the clinic / practice. 

That being said, there will always remain a need for physical examinations of patients and so none remote appointments will still need to be in place for this very reason. There is also the fact that some people, especially older patients, either do not like using modern technology or simply do not know how to use it. For this reason, once we move out of the coronavirus pandemic, it is likely that “telemedicine” will decline in favor of the more traditional practices.

Hospital setting

It is not just GPs who have been doing more “telemedicine” during the coronavirus pandemic. The same has also been true of doctors and consultants within a hospital setting, with more than 70 percent of them wanting to keep it in place even once all restrictions have been removed. 

Before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, “telemedicine” was not common place within hospitals. However, in less than a year things have changed dramatically and they now play a very important role in the health of many patients. They also play their part in ensuring patients only come into hospital if they absolutely need to, as these places are hotbeds for the spread of the virus, with 1 in 4 cases being contracted within a hospital setting.