Doctors are putting patients at risk by insisting they access care online or through the NHS app, a damning report published today claims.
GP practices are increasingly using digital forms to help manage the demand for in-person appointments.
But poorly designed sites fail to collect the information staff need to triage patients and make a diagnosis, the Health Services Security Investigations Bureau (HSSIB) found.
This has introduced potentially lethal delays in identifying diseases, the report adds, and damaged the doctor-patient relationship.
Moreover, the trend towards a digital-first healthcare system is deterring older people. Patients describe feeling “frustrated”, “humiliated” and “embarrassed” when asked to report their symptoms via online forms.
Image of the NHS app on a mobile phone screen (stock image)
A woman has an appointment with a doctor via video call (file image)
There are fears that this could lead them to downplay issues they would have disclosed in person.
Doctors admitted that the lack of personal interaction means vital signs can be missed.
The requirement to have a computer or smartphone to access digital services means the “modern” way of working promotes inequality, they added.
The HSSIB report noted that while online tools can benefit GPs and patients, they “have contributed to some patient safety incidents”.
The 59-page report highlights the case of a patient who needed complex surgery because the use of online tools led to a delay in the diagnosis of his cancer.
Nick Woodier, senior security researcher at HSSIB, said: “The future of healthcare includes technology to help deliver care, but this must be done with an acknowledgement of the security risks.”
A doctor on a video call with a patient while sitting in his office (stock image)
An estimated 30.8 million appointments were recorded on GP booking systems in May. Of these, around 19.8 million were carried out in person, 7.8 million by telephone and 1.4 million online or by video conference.
Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for over-60s, said: “This official safety report supports the safety concerns we have been raising since the end of the pandemic.”
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients’ Association, said: “Choice over how a patient accesses health services, including non-digital options, must be protected.”
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “Patients should be able to interact with their GP in any way they choose, whether online or in person.”
