How to improve online GP consultations

NHS England is promoting the use of online GP consultations through a £45 million fund. But unless these systems are carefully implemented and effectively marketed, they won’t yield the benefits that policymakers are hoping for. Indeed, they may create more work for GPs rather than save them time, as research published in BMJ Open and funded by the NIHR at the University of Bristol has found.

NIHR CLAHRC West, in collaboration with the One Care Consortium, evaluated the effectiveness, acceptability and impact of implementing eConsult in thirty-six GP practices in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. eConsult is a web-based platform that patients access from their GP practice’s website. It enables patients to complete a questionnaire and submit their symptoms online to a GP. The system also provides self-help, advice and signposting to 111, pharmacy or local services. Michelle Farr, Senior Research Associate at CLAHRC West, explains what the evaluation found.