Video GP services risk fuelling antibiotic resistance, study warns

WEBCAM GP services may not be safe and risk fuelling antibiotic resistance, research suggests. 

The study by Imperial College London examined the work done by private online GP services, which have sprung up in recent years, offering near-instant appointments often via link-ups such as Skype. 

The research found such companies were heavily promoting access to antibiotics, sometimes “in minutes”.

Internet searches for antibiotics also led consumers straight to the GP sites, none of which carried any warnings about over-use of the drugs, the study found.

Earlier this week health officials warned that at least one in five prescriptions doled out by family doctors are needless, fuelling the rise of drug-resistant superbugs, killing 5,000 a year in the UK.

Researchers suggested the plethora of GP online sites advertising antibiotics could mean patients were even more likely to expect and be given the drugs by doctors who knew prescribing them might keep paying customers happy.

Lead author Dr Benedict Hayhoe said: “The uncertainty inherent in video consulting, where examination is impossible, might be expected to result in increased antibiotic prescription, due to clinicians feeling a need to ‘play it safe’.”

“Provision of antibiotics is known to be associated with increased patient satisfaction, and in a competitive online environment, private companies will be particularly reliant on positive patient feedback,” the authors said.

The study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, examined seven sites in detail. Four specified that they would prescribe antibiotics, with one appearing to use easy access to antibiotics as a marketing strategy.

Researchers said the safety of such practices, lacking physical examinations was “largely untested” with risks heightened by lack of access to NHS notes, meaning drug interactions and allergies could be missed.

And they said the private consultations could add to demands on the NHS, if patients ended up being encouraged to see specialists or go to Accident & Emergency departments.

Why is the NHS under so much pressure?

Researchers said the prompt access offered by private services could increase patient expectations more generally, with average waits of 13 days now to see an NHS GP.

But it said the firms -  paying £60 an hour on top of NHS salaries - could also contribute to an NHS workforce crisis, with widespread shortages of family doctors.

In numbers | Worsening access to GP surgeries

Dr Hayhoe said: “Evidence for the impact of alternatives to face-to-face GP consulting on workload and access is limited. While availability of affordable online consultations may reduce pressure on NHS primary care, it may conversely increase pressure through supply induced demand, or through defensive practices.”