I have moved from GP partnership into the world of a 'Portfolio' GP, maintaining clinical practice at my former surgery, but working for HSCIC across a broader remit to link projects and programmes closer together, for patient and clinician benefit.
In England there has been consistent work going on 'behind the scenes' leading up to a flurry of activity in March to activate online interaction between citizens and General Practice. So with the publication of achievement figures today, there is a sense of surprise and amazement that the landscape of opportunity for citizens has changed so much.
Of course the sceptics will argue that 'only' around 5 million people are currently registered to use these types of service, and that very few yet go as far as to access the medical record elements.
While that is true, there are several markers of a 'step change' in attitude to the opportunity, approach and demand for digital interaction with Primary Healthcare services:
- General Practices themselves turned on the functionality - a positive attitude
- NHS England and GPSoC worked to educate and enable - facilitation NOT enforcement
- Improvements in Patient Facing Functionality - a market waking-up to opportunity
- BMA commitment to work with NHS England - constructive dialogue to expedite benefit
- Alignment with future strategy - Five year forward view
So I am very optimistic that General Practice IS leading the journey of discovery about how citizens and Health & Social Care services can effectively and safety interact in a virtual environment. We all need this to work, to mitigate the politically unpalatable reality of demand outstripping the resources we currently have, without radically new different ways of working.
Digital interaction, with supported self assessment and management, improved signposting and the effective delivery of a virtual service to support healthy choices and rehabilitation, is a major part of the ambition in the next 5 years. Without it the Health and Care services may well soon sink under the burden of 'wants' and 'promises'.
Health and Care services are there to deliver what citizens are assessed as needing, in a manner that is as acceptable and convenient to citizens as possible. Time to move on from Political 'Top-Trumps' to utilise digital interaction to improve the quality and safety of health and social care.
PS - Social Media Hermit…..
