09.11.18
NHS director tells doctors to use Skype to cut ‘thousands of unnecessary hospital appointments’
England’s top doctor has called on hospitals to embrace Skype, apps and other online tools to reduce the “thousands of unnecessary outpatient appointments made every day.”
NHS England’s medical director Stephen Powis said that it is “crucial” the NHS looks at how it interacts with patients so it can scrap unnecessary appointments, sparing thousands of patients from hospital visits and time off work and school and saving the health service millions of pounds.
In his foreword to the Royal College of Physicians report, Powis called for the NHS to “grasp the nettle” and “enlist the power of tech and innovation,” such as referring patients to Skype outpatient appointments.
He said the current outpatient system was older than the NHS and that as part of the long-term plan for the NHS, “it’s right we look at ways to cut unnecessary appointments, save thousands of journeys, reduce traffic and pollution and make the NHS more efficient.”
The report highlighted that there should be a clear health benefit when asking people to travel to appointments, and that ending unnecessary ones would free up clinical specialists to spend more time on complex patients where they can make the biggest difference.
Professor Powis added: “For many people, care can be delivered more timely and conveniently closer to home, by specialists at the GP surgery or by using technology in new and exciting ways.
“This report shows a snapshot of exciting new models already working successfully through apps, Skype, text messaging and remote monitoring systems that are changing the shape of care; we need to bottle and spread those examples building a new consensus for the future based on the views of clinicians and patients.”
The report also explored a number of case studies where technology and innovations had already been implemented and proven successful, such as the pioneering virtual e-clinic employed by Tower Hamlets.
In north-west London, a new model of ‘child health hubs’ have reduced hospital appointments for children by 80% and, in the north-west, a neurology hotline for GPs has been employed to spare patients unnecessary worry and travel times and invest £100m back into the NHS.
Image credit - stockcam
Enjoying NHE? Subscribe here to receive our weekly news updates or click here to receive a copy of the magazine!