GP Online Consultation

About GP Online Consultation

As part of its Digital Transformation Strategy, NHS England embarked on a series of schemes, using technology to empower people to take control of their health and care through secure online access to clinicians, personalised health information, digital tools and advice that help patients to better manage their conditions. As part of this, we launched GP Online Consultation in 2017 with the main objective to empower patients and make it easier for clinicians to deliver high quality care and enabling patients to seamlessly navigate the service.

The online consultations are a way for patients to contact their GP practice without having to queue on the phone or take time out of their busy lifestyles to come into the practice. With a few clicks using a smartphone, tablet or computer, people can contact their GP practices about a new problem or an ongoing issue. They can ask questions or tell their GP about their symptoms. The practice ensures their query is dealt with by the right person in the team, helping ensure everyone is served as quickly and appropriately as possible.

Have a look at our animation to find out more about GP Online Consultation.

GP Online Consultation is fully funded by NHS England as part of the General Practice Forward View. Through the GP Online Consultation Systems Fund the project was launched to support practices to explore and successfully embed models of online consultations as part of providing ‘Right Care, at the Right Time and in the Right Place’ which benefits both patients and staff.

As published in January 2019, the GP Online Consultation became a contractual requirement for GP practices from April 2020 as stipulated in the Five-Year Framework for GP Contract reform which all sit within the NHS Long Term Plan. It anticiapted that:

all practices will be offering online triage and video consultations. Video consultations are very similar to a face-to-face appointment. This is where you speak to a doctor using the video camera in your smartphone, tablet or computer. If you need to have a video call, you will get a text or email from your GP surgery with a date and time. Find out more about how to have a video call
all patients will have online access to their full record, as the default position, subject to existing safeguards for vulnerable groups and third party confidentiality and system functionality
all practices will need to have an up-to-date and informative online presence, with key information being available as metadata for other platforms to use
all practices will be giving all patients access to online correspondence as the system moves to digital by default (with patients required to opt-out rather than in)
practices will no longer use fax machines for either NHS or patient communications

GP Online Consultation - questions and answers

We’ve put these questions and answers together to provide you with the information you need about GP Online Consultation. It is intended to answer any questions you might have about using the service, now available in GP practices across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. If you have a question that isn’t answered here please let us know. You can contact the Digital Programme team on: wyhhcp.digital@nhs.net.

We updated these questions and answers in July 2021.

1. What is GP Online Consultation?

GP Online Consultation is where you can fill in an online form available on your GP website using your smartphone, computer or tablet. Your GP might use another name such as eConsult, Engage Consult, Patient Triage or Ask My GP. This is because GPs use different providers. You can still use other ways to contact your GP, for example, over the phone. This is just another way to contact your GP practice. Our two-minute animation tells you more about GP Online.

2. What can I use GP Online Consultation for?

You can use the form to tell your doctor about a new problem and describe your symptoms. If you have a physical symptom, for example, a rash on your skin, you can take a photo and attach that to your form too. You can also make an admin request or anything else you need to tell your practice about. Symptom-specific self-help information is also available together with easy access to other local NHS and self-care services.

3. Why should I use it?

You can use the form whenever and wherever you like, in the same way that you might do your online shopping. Certain times of the day can be very busy so using the online form means no more waiting in a telephone queue or clock watching to ring the practice at a specific time. You can be getting on with the rest of your day instead. It’s convenient and easy to use; just follow the instructions on your GP website.

4. When will the practice get back to me?

Your GP practice will aim to respond to you within two working days, although this can sometimes vary.

5. How does my practice use the forms?

The practice sets time aside every day to make sure queries are dealt with by the right person in the team, helping to make sure everyone is served as quickly and in the best way possible. If the GP surgery needs to get in touch they may suggest a phone or video consultation so you don’t have to come into the practice. You and your GP team agree together what the next best step is.

6. What should I not use the form for?

Don’t use the online form in an emergency. You should dial 999 immediately if you or someone else is having a heart attack or stroke or if you think someone has had a major trauma, such as a serious road traffic accident, a fall from a height or a serious head injury. If you need advice or medical treatment quickly, but it’s not a 999 emergency and you cannot wait for an appointment with your doctor you can ring 111 – the telephone service brought to you by the NHS. You shouldn’t use the online form to ask your doctor a general question that isn’t about you. Use the information available on the NHS website instead.

7. What about people who don’t use digital?

We know that technology is not for us all and that some of us can’t, or prefer not to, use online services. But if you can use the online form, please do so. That’s because it helps frees up busy telephone lines for people who can’t or don’t want to use online facilities.

8. Why isn’t the service always available 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

We encourage all GP practices to provide GP Online Consultation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However there may be times when your GP practice has to switch it off outside of practice opening hours, for example when they are very busy and need to put steps in place to deal with increased demand for services to make sure they can continue to meet patient needs. Even when the GP online consultation service is unavailable, patients still have access to self-help advice, NHS 111, and out of hours services.

9. Can I access my GP practice through the new NHS app?

This depends on what system your GP uses for their GP Online Consultation. The majority of practices in West Yorkshire use systems which are available via the NHS App. If your practice is using one of these, you can submit an online consultation via the ‘advice’ tab on the app, and clicking ‘ask your GP for advice’. Where this is not available via the app, you can still submit an online consultation via the practice website.

10. What feedback have you had?

Patients have reported that they find the form quick and easy to use and a lot better than being in a phone queue. If you’d like to share your experience of using GP Online Consultation and how it compares to other more traditional ways, such as over the phone, please send an email to: wyhhcp.digital@nhs.net.

11. How many people use GP Online Consultations?

490,627 online consultations took place between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021. Of those, over 40,000 of you were able to access self-help information from the service instead of seeing your GP face-to-face. As GP Online Consultation becomes more widely known we expect to see more people using it.

12. Who provides the service?

There are currently seven different GP online consultation products in use across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. These are:

eConsult
Engage Consult
AireLogic
eReception
Silicon
AccuRx
AskMyGP

The two main products in West Yorkshire are eConsult and Engage Consult which account for over 80% of patients in the region.

13. Who pays for it?

GP Online Consultation is fully funded by NHS England as part of the General Practice Forward View.

14. English isn’t my first language, how do I find out more?

We have produced an animation about GP Online Consultation in:

English including an in-vision signer using British Sign Language (BSL)

15. How can I find out if my surgery does online consultations?

99% of practices in West Yorkshire and Harrogate use GP Online Consultations. Find your GP surgery to get their website details.

The GP Online Consultation Project for the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership covers the following areas with their preffered online consultation suppliers;

CCG Name Company Name Solution Name

Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven CCG eConsult Health Ltd eConsult

Bradford City CCG eConsult Health Ltd eConsult

Bradford District CCG eConsult Health Ltd eConsult

Calderdale CCG Engage Health Systems Ltd Engage Consult

Greater Huddersfield CCG eConsult Health Ltd eConsult
Engage Health Systems Ltd Engage Consult

Harrogate and Rural Districts CCG eConsult Health Ltd eConsult

Leeds CCG eConsult Health Ltd eConsult
Aire Logic Limited Forms4Health
Enhanced Primary Healthcare Ltd e-Reception

North Kirklees CCG Engage Health Systems Ltd Engage Consult

Wakefield CCG Engage Health Systems Ltd Engage Consult
GP Access Ltd AskmyGP

Forms4health is an intuitive, easily integrated, electronic smart forms platform, designed to put an organisation in control of their healthcare IT.

Forms4health will be able to replicate any existing processes in your organisation, whether currently conducted on paper or digitally, but will also bring additional benefits to streamline your workflows and allow more efficient, cost-effective and intelligent working.

How it works for the surgery

It works like a publishing tool, with a visual form builder and the ability to export resources immediately, creating forms using forms4health and is incredibly quick and easy.

By using the building platform to assemble your form, you can start from scratch, or use existing sections (building blocks) from previously created forms to save time and improve consistency across your organisation. You can utilise features such as conditional questions and branching logic to make sure the forms only display relevant questions to the user, making the form as easy to complete as it is to create.

How it works for the patient

Patient goes to their GP surgery website, clicks on my health and then eConsultations to access the form. The form provides validation and a dynamic / hierarchical set of questions based on previous answers to make it as simple as possible to complete the form. The form then gets sent onto the surgery, where a member of staff will look at your completed form and action as appropriate.

Benefits

Control how and when resources are created and implemented, with no reliance on external software companies to design functionality or schedule release cycles.
Improve data quality to provide accurate, personalised care to patients, and support detailed analysis across all areas of business operations.
Enhance sharing and interoperability with comprehensive integration capabilities, allowing you to join up with satellite organisations for no extra cost, regardless of their technology environment.
Provide all healthcare professionals with the user friendly tools required to create their own resources, with no previous technical training required.
Create sophisticated forms with features including branching logic, conditional questions, and clinical decision support.
Increase efficiency through all stages of the process; form design, implementation, data capture and analysis.
Achieve the NHS Five Year Forward View requirement of paperless working by 2020 with the capability to easily recreate any paper form electronically.
An easy-to-use online service offered by a practice.
Patients feel ‘listened to’ – they provide high-quality information in their own time, not the GPs or receptionists. Without that pressure, patients have time to think are often able to provide a more complete picture of their problem, which they regularly report as beneficial in its own right.
Patients can complete reports at their convenience – far better than hanging on the telephone.

Video

To find out more please visit the supplier’s website;

https://airelogic.com/products-and-services/product-development-and-support/forms4health/

https://forms4health.com/forms4health/features/

eConsult is one of the most widely used online consultation platform in primary care, built by NHS GPs, designed to enhance patient access, improve practice efficiencies and relieve pressure by signposting patients to the right service for their care.

How it works

Patients choosing to eConsult with their GP simply fill out an online form

eConsult captures the symptoms associated with over 100 common clinical conditions, as well as details for administrative requests such as sick notes.
Red flag sensitivity, designed through rigorous clinical governance, alerts the patient to signs of critical illness that require immediate medical intervention (this may be best provided outside of your practice).
eConsult responds in real time, tailoring the questions according to information inputted and to the patient's unique demographic.

The completed patient information is emailed to the practice

eConsults are securely emailed as a succinct PDF report (no more than 2 sides of A4) directly to the practice administration team who then add any clinical or relevant eConsults into a GP’s workflow.
The structure of the report is always the same, so GPs can quickly scan for the relevant information needed to make an informed decision.
We find around 70% of eConsults can be closed without a face to face appointment.

Set up

Before you begin, consider how eConsult will sit within your workflow, and what you are trying to achieve or improve. Every practice is different, so eConsult has been designed to integrate with your practice’s ways of working. In order to benefit most you should be replacing something with eConsult rather than simply adding it as another channel.

eConsult bolts onto your existing practice website

The eConsult platform bolts onto your existing practice website, so there's no need to update any IT systems or invest in expensive website overhauls.
Add an eConsult banner to your existing practice website to let patients consult online or get self-help advice when it suits them.

Prepare your staff and patients

There is extensive training on how best to use eConsult, as well as how to prepare your staff and patients.
This is vital in ensuring implementation runs smoothly and you have the uptake needed to really feel the benefits.
All staff must complete some short training prior to launch - this includes video guides on how to process eConsults clinically and important indemnity and reporting procedures.

Benefits

Cut consultation time - the average eConsult is closed with 2-3 minutes.
70% of eConsults are closed without the need for a face to face appointment.
Improve patient access - let patients tell you their symptoms when convenient
Standardised histories taken from all patients.
Allocate work based on need, whether this be clinical or admin.
Help improve the care you provide for your patients - prioritise patients in need.
Make better use of other primary care services - not all eConsults require GP review.

Case studies
https://econsult.net/case-studies/

Video

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To find out more please visit the supplier's website;

https://econsult.net/

Engage Consult is a responsive web application accessed from the practice homepage that allows the patient to:

Explore and report on their symptoms - and request help with their problem from their practice online – all patients, not just Registered Online Service Users (ROSUs)
Make admin requests – fit notes etc.
Access and explore a range of approved self-help resources – local and national
Access other online services: repeat prescriptions, appointments and medical records access (if registered to do so by practice)
Receive locally configured “Red Flags” or “did you know”-style prompts in response to specific, locally configured symptoms
Engage in secure online two-way messaging with their practice (for Engage Consult account holders)
Upload health data

Engage Consult supports the patient - prctice relationship, it does not seek to replace it.

The benefits of Engage Consult - for surgery users

High-quality symptom-history reports delivered to the practice in structured, consistent and easy-to-read format supports enhances the efficiency and safety of triage decisions – often with no further need to contact patient for further information first, the clinician can safely and efficiently decide on next steps:
- Ask reception to make appointment
- Refer to nurse/pharmacist/health care assistant etc. to respond
- Call back with advice/consult by telephone
- Use secure 2-way online with advice/consult online (Account Holders only)
- Prescribe
Often much easier than exploring symptoms via a signposting conversation by phone – patients provide more information than they would even to an experienced receptionist
Evidence indicates as much as 30% of clinical time is saved on average for every consultation initiated by Engage Consult when compared with existing modes of access
No need to access consultation reports via emails – reports delivered via simple web portal view
Automatic searching and identification of registered patients requesting a consultation via Engage Consult from the PCS – no toggling between systems required
Easy to attach annotated symptom and health data reports to the patient record, along with all communications with patient/user associated with episode
Secure, 2-way online communications with Account Holders – practice remains in control of comms – patient can only RESPOND not INITIATE
Can continue to use existing workflow process and systems if that is the preference for most administrators and clinicians

The benefits of Engage Consult - for patients

Engage Consult is an easy-to-use digital front door for all online services offered by a practice
Patients feel ‘listened to’ – they provide high-quality information in their own time, not the GPs or receptionists. Without that pressure, patients have time to think are often able to provide a more complete picture of their problem, which they regularly report as beneficial in its own right.
Patients can complete reports at their convenience – far better than hanging on the telephone
Patients can explore symptoms and report on multiple conditions sequentially

Case Study

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbIR2vV3LwU

Video

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To find out more please visit the supplier's website;

https://engagehealth.uk/engage-consult/

What is eReception?

eReception is a website based tool, which automates all your reception functions. In simple terms, patients go on their practice's website to access e-Reception rather than telephoning their practices reception team. It is a highly effective Care Navigation tool that helps deliver business change.

The application consists of several modules, each designed to help signpost patient's queries to the right place, depending on the nature of their problem. Essentially it aims to help by-pass the GP. For instance, musculo-skeletal problems can be passed directly to the practice physiotherapist.

How does it work from the practice's perspective?

The practice receives a structured email via NHS mail. An administrator then actions each one and care navigates. Patients are sent an automated response followed by the operator generated response.

Benefits

Receptionists do not need to spend time on the phone determining the problem; the patient outlines it themselves.
Queries are signposted to the correct department. For example, medication queries can be dropped directly into the practice pharmacist’s in-box.
A number of patients can be directed to alternative services, such as community pharmacy.
The morning phone call rush is avoided: eReception queries are dealt with steadily throughout the day.
Analytics: eReception provides a complete break-down of the reasons patients are contacting the practice. For example, many practices are surprised by the number of medication queries, and the compelling business case for a practice pharmacist.

To find out more please visit the supplier's website;

https://www.enhanceprimaryhealthcare.co.uk/ereception

Apart from the four main suppliers listed above, Leeds and Wakefield CCGs have various other suppliers on a practice basis namely:

GP Access Ltd - AskmyGP

To find out more please visit the suppliers website;

http://askmygp.uk/

Silicon Practice Ltd - FootFall

To find out more please visit the suppliers website;

http://www.siliconpractice.co.uk/

What areas does this solution cover?
eConsult covers the following CCG areas; Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven, Bradford City and Bradford District.

Does the solution integrate with clinical systems?
The solution will allow you to upload a PDF into the clinical system at the practice.

Can the solution retrieve smoking and drinking data? (Coding)
Yes, eConsult does have the functionality to retrieve data such as smoking and alcohol consumption.

Does the solution allow for proxy?
Yes, the solution does allow this, however this is optional and up to the practices whether or not they want to enable this and its only parent proxy.

Does the solution allow video consultation?
Not currently, however this is a future development and is in trialling stages. It is envisioned for this functionality to be accessible at the end of the online triage tool or within Care Homes.

Does the solution integrate with the NHS App?
Development in terms of the integration with the NHS App is taking place and one of the first functional capabilities within this is that the App will allow patients to verify themselves to then go on and complete the online triage.

How do patients know this is for non-urgent queries only?
At the start of each questionnaire, patients are prompted to indicate they are not suffering from any serious issues, e.g. chest pains, signs of a stroke, etc. In addition, each questionnaire is configured to flag to a patient where the symptoms they are describing indicates a more serious/urgent issue which requires more immediate medical attention. In both cases, the online consultation is ended.

Is the practice notified when an online consultation is ended early due to the severity of the problem?
No, the practice does not receive any notification when this occurs. The responsibility lies with the patient to seek appropriate medical attention.

Can patients not registered with the practice complete an online consultation?
Yes they can, however there is a secure one-way messaging system available to staff to notify the patient they need to register before they can access services offered by the practice.

Can an eConsult be completed when the practice is closed?
Yes, eConsult is available 24/7 and patients will be informed to expect a response by the end of the next working day.

What is the name of the solution being deployed?
The solution is called Engage Consult and it is being provided by the company named Engage Health Systems Ltd, previously known as Wiggly Amps.

What areas does this solution cover?
The Engage Consult solution is being deployed in the following CCG areas; Calderdale, North Kirklees and Wakefield.

Does the solution integrate with the clinical systems?
The solution has a function built within, which will upload a PDF into the clinical system at the practice.

Does the solution provide video consultation?
Not currently. However, this is being worked on for future development.

Does the solution have a read coding mechanism to link with the clinical system?
Engage Health System Ltd is currently working on this and has a function to allow this. However, this hasn’t gone live yet.

Does the patient know when they will receive a response from the practice when using the solution?
Yes, Engage Consult has the functionality for practices to set their response time accordingly. This will flag up to the patient when they are completing their questionnaire which flags up their practices response times.

Does the solution allow for proxy?
Yes, the solution allows proxy for parents and carers.

Can the solution retrieve smoking and drinking data? (Coding)
This is a future development for the solution and should be completed within the next 3-6 months.

Can a patient not registered to the practice submit an online triage request?
Yes, however this will be flagged once the manual patient verification within the clinical system is attempted.

Does ID verification occur within Engage Consult?
No, this needs to be done by the practice.

Can instant messaging be initiated by the patient?
No, this must be initiated by the practice through an online consultation request. In addition, the patient must not be submitting the request via a ‘guest’ account.

Does the solution integrate with the NHS App?
Not currently, but this is part of their development work.

Contact Us

For more information on GP Online Consultation please contact the Digital Team by email or follow us on Twitter.

Email: wyhhcp.digital@nhs.net

Twitter: @WYHDigital

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GP Online Consultation

About GP Online Consultation

GP Online Consultation - questions and answers

1. What is GP Online Consultation?

2. What can I use GP Online Consultation for?

3. Why should I use it?

4. When will the practice get back to me?

5. How does my practice use the forms?

6. What should I not use the form for?

7. What about people who don’t use digital?

8. Why isn’t the service always available 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

9. Can I access my GP practice through the new NHS app?

10. What feedback have you had?

11. How many people use GP Online Consultations?

12. Who provides the service?

13. Who pays for it?

14. English isn’t my first language, how do I find out more?

15. How can I find out if my surgery does online consultations?

Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) areas and suppliers

Aire Logic Ltd - Forms4Health

eConsult Health Ltd - eConsult

Engage Health Systems Ltd - Engage Consult

Enhanced Primary Healthcare Ltd - e-Reception

Other suppliers

eConsult Solution - questions and answers

Engage Consult Solution - questions and answers

Contact Us

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