Covid lockdowns over the last few years demonstrated very clearly that large parts of our lives can be successfully conducted online. With the various levels and restrictions, health professionals - in particular, were forced to develop new ways of consultation. As a result, we are now in the age of the online doctor.
It’s a great solution for patients when there are workforce shortages and lack of appointments which has become the new norm in general practice.
Dr Kim Hurst works as Virtual Care Lead for Green Cross Health, running their HouseCall team and service - as well as being GP Lead at The Doctors Whakatipu medical centre in Queenstown.
She was already developing a concept for online consultations - conscious of an ongoing shortage of GPs in New Zealand - which saw long waiting lists to join a practice, and a two-week wait for appointments - when Covid arrived in early 2020.
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“I was at a practice in the Hutt Valley and two of us were doing it. We’d soon realised that it was helping relieve the social burden for patients who had issues with time or transport.”
Dr Hurst says that when the first lockdown came, they trained the other doctors in the practice, using a roleplay scenario.
“By then we had a bunch of patients who had real confidence in virtual appointments and the rest of the world soon caught on.”
She notes that many aspects of life went back to normal after the lockdowns ended, but primary healthcare has, notably, remained in the digital space where it is continuing to develop and improve.
Dr Hurst says the HouseCall system is very simple and straightforward and while it allows for casual users, it also supports patients’ normal relationships with their personal GPs.
“Yes, there are things we can’t do online but, actually, people have equipment like home blood pressure monitors easily available to them these days and relaying that information in a virtual appointment can actually empower them to be involved in their own healthcare.”
HouseCall is a welcome innovation for people who live rurally, do shift work or travel a lot because they can make their appointment at a time and day that suits them. It’s ideal for young parents who find it difficult to get to doctor’s visits, people who’ve recently moved and haven’t been able to find a new doctor locally, as well as being perfect for people with mobility issues.
Dr Hurst says that because they know it is a trustworthy service with strict standards, staff at The Doctors’ 63 medical centres, run by Green Cross Health have no hesitation in referring patients to HouseCall – especially if the issue is urgent, no in-person appointments are available and the medical issue is suitable for telehealth.
She’s very pleased with the New Zealand accredited doctors who’ve been recruited and says that they are all very medically well-qualified and experienced.
“One of our busiest HouseCall doctors is a single mother of three, and we also have some great older doctors – really nice people - who might otherwise have been going into retirement, so it suits them, as well as suiting their patients.”
All HouseCall doctors have been specifically trained in doing telehealth consultations, and with urgent appointments in many New Zealand after-hours centres now well over $100, HouseCall’s casual flat rate of $69 per virtual doctor’s visit is competitive. This payment, which covers everything is required up-front, by credit card, debit card, or bank transfer.
An online appointment lasts up to 15 minutes and patients start their consultation by smartphone, tablet or laptop, using the link they’ve been sent, then join the virtual waiting room prior to the appointment commencing.
The first three minutes are spent discussing symptoms or concerns and if it’s not an issue suitable for telecare, patients are referred to a face-to-face appointment.
It’s suggested that patients come to their online appointment with notes, so they don’t overlook anything the doctor should be told. At the conclusion of the session any prescriptions will be sent to a pharmacy, any lab tests are arranged, and referrals written. If the patient wants their notes sent to their usual doctor, that will be done.
Dr Kim Hurst says that HouseCall is an excellent example of innovation coming along with a crisis, in this case the global pandemic.
“I really enjoy my virtual consultation sessions – they’re very refreshing."
She says there’s no doubt that this is a very viable approach to primary health care and HouseCall is committed to actively improving their systems.
“Patients like continuity and familiarity so we use all the things we know, in order to minimise fragmentation of care, wherever possible.
She says that patients can feel confident that their experience will be private and secure.
“We’re still having difficulty getting the number of doctors we need in the healthcare system, here in New Zealand, so we see HouseCall as providing at least part of the solution to that problem.
For more information visit: housecall.co.nz
