Routine face-to-face appointments with your GP may never return even after coronavirus, Royal College of General Practitioners says

• In-person GP appointments dropped from 70% to 23% within weeks of lockdown
•  This large shift has made a ‘compelling case’ to keep so-called ‘total triage
• This is when patients talk to a doctor online or over the phone before coming in 

Routine face-to-face appointments with your doctor could become a thing of the past even when the coronavirus pandemic is over, according to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

The number of in-person GP appointments dropped from 70 per cent to 23 per cent ‘within weeks’ of measures being adopted in response to the virus, a report from the RCGP said.

This shift has made a ‘compelling case’ to keep so-called ‘total triage’ – where patients talk to a doctor online or over the phone before coming in to the surgery – post-Covid, the report adds.

This shift has made a ‘compelling case’ to keep so-called ‘total triage’ – where patients talk to a doctor online or over the phone before coming in to the surgery – post-Covid, the report adds. Pictured: Stock photo of a patient and a doctor having an online consultation

At the start of the outbreak, GPs were told not to allow patients book face-to-face appointments in order to reduce the chances of someone bringing the virus in to the surgery.

Instead, doctors conducted initial appointments over the phone or internet and only saw patients in-person if they needed an examination. The report said this could be a positive change for GPs going forward.

‘A key benefit was that GPs would respond to patients’ needs and decide the most appropriate mode of follow-up consultation, whether that was a face-to-face, video call, or telephone, and vary its length, allowing longer consultations for those with more complex problems,’ it said.

‘As we look to the post-Covid landscape, there is a compelling case for general practice retaining total triage in order to better flex how consultations are delivered according to the needs and preferences of patients.’ Health Secretary Matt Hancock is a big supporter of the integration of technology and healthcare and has previously endorsed apps such as Babylon’s GP at Hand which allow patients to have video consultations with doctors via their smartphone.

Professor Martin Marshall, chairman of the RCGP, said the pandemic had resulted in ‘positive changes’ to general practice that were driven by ‘advancements in technology’.

Professor Marshall has said he expects that in future around half of GP appointments will be face-to-face with the rest dealt with remotely.

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