After launching its latest NHS partnership two months ago, patients in the Birmingham area are now signing up to digital health provision available through a Manchester-based HealthTech app.
Push Doctor announced in January it had agreed a deal with the Urban Health and I3 primary care networks – covering 13 practices and 88,000 patients – allowing them to make a digital appointment with an online GP to help them get seen more quickly.
34 per cent of the 11,000 patients at Halcyon Medical surgery in Central Birmingham have now signed up for online access in the pilot, which the company says far outweigh national take-up, based on its own national survey.
After training sessions in December and an initial period where on-call GPs triaged bookings, direct bookings through receptionists were introduced in January and a variety of conditions have been treated since, including gastroenteritis, ulcerative colitis and haematuria.
“When we first partnered with Push Doctor, our aim was to improve the level of patient care by improving access through more convenient appointments that fitted around their busy schedules,” said Matthew Nye, Medical Director at Halycon Medical.
“It was also important to us as a practice that there was no extra administration involved so the partnership could benefit our doctors as well as our patients.
“This pilot is helping us understand the use case, demand and access needs of different groups.
Wais Shaifta, chief executive of Push Doctor, added: “It gives patients more control over their health, it reduces the burden on doctors and their practice teams and aligns with the Government’s ambitions to make better use of technology in healthcare.”
In addition to its partnership with Urban Health and I3, Push Doctor has also partnered with super-practice Modality, a deal announced in September which covers surgeries in Yorkshire, the Midlands, London and the South East.