[ad_1]
28% of new patients have left the service since July 2017
Adrian O & # 39; Dowd
Friday, May 24, 2019
The first digital service, known as GP at Hand, received a mixed record of an independent evaluation report * that revealed that it was very popular with patients and general practitioners but that it was unlikely that it could be deployed more widely across the country. UNITED KINGDOM.
The report used a patient experience survey, qualitative practice-based case studies, economic evaluation, qualitative interviews with a wider audience, and secondary data badysis to evaluate the service provided by Babylon. .
General at Hand, located in Fulham, London, within the Hammersmith and Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), provides services to approximately 50,000 patients under a contract with GMS. Patients' first contact is through an online consultation of a GP using a mobile phone application or website, before the treatment is administered in different ways.
Hammersmith and Fulham CCG commissioned Ipsos MORI and the York Economics Health Consortium to conduct an independent badessment, which was released yesterday.
According to the report, the majority of general practitioners (85%) rated their overall experience as "good" and 72% said that the quality of care received from their general practitioner was better than the one they had followed. before.
However, the report adds that patients who had chosen this model had made it on the basis of access and convenience.
"This evaluation did not conclude that this was the optimal model of care for these patients, but simply that the high levels of access and convenience offered by this model were very appealing to this cohort of patients," says -t it.
Indeed, since July 2017, 28% of patients who had joined the service had left, a rate of departure above the London average of one in six.
The general practitioners of Babylon were "very satisfied" and worked for Babylon. They compared this experience to that of other countries in terms of flexibility and workload, but they also had good systems to monitor and develop their performance. The service also seemed to reduce the use of EMs by his patients.
The authors concluded: "The unprecedented, rapid and continuous growth of GP to Hand implies a latent demand for such a service among a segment of the population.
"The GP service at hand is not currently used by a large number of patients with complex needs, which could be linked to the warning about the adequacy of service for some patients and the current advice according to which patients should be able and able to go face-to-face. This clearly limits the number and type of patients likely to use the service.
"The badysis of the overall effectiveness of the service raises important questions about the potential transferability and scalability of the model to other areas and to larger patient groups."
Babylon welcomed the report and its medical director (British clinical service), Dr. Matthew Noble, said, "This independent report shows that the family doctor at hand is loved by all types of patients because they can now have access to a doctor when they need it.
"I am particularly pleased that the report shows how our GPs love their work, do not run out and that our digital approach at first could even be a way to encourage general practitioners to stay in the community." profession and to help recruit more doctors. in general practice.
"The results show that Babylon GP at hand is not only very beneficial for patients and generalists, it also helps the NHS save time and money. If you consider that the A & E visit costs on average £ 160 and the average outpatient appointment is £ 125, you can see how fast Babylon GP Hand and digital services first can have a positive impact on the NHS . "
Dr. Richard Vautrey, Chair of the British Medical Association's General Practitioners Committee, said, "This long-awaited report is a good reflection of the many long-standing concerns we have about GPs.
"General practitioners have been at the forefront of digital developments, but they always consider the benefits of all patients, not just a few. This is why we have always expressed real reservations about a system that has been put in place without worrying about its impact on patients, practices and the health landscape in general.
"As this report makes clear, this is a service used primarily by young, healthy and well-off people who seem to be looking for quick answers to health questions and using this service as they do." would do with NHS 111, focusing on long-term convenience. long-term quality and continuity of care. "
* Evaluation of Babylon GP at hand: final evaluation report. Ipsos MORI Social Research Center and York Economics Health Consortium (May 2019)
Source link
