14 November 2017
During a routine inspection
We carried out an announced focussed inspection on 14 November 2017 to ask the service the following key questions: are services safe and effective?
Our findings were:
Are services safe?
We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services effective?
We found that this service was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
CQC inspected the service on 24 May 2017 and asked the provider to make improvements regarding their arrangements for checking patients’ identities, sharing information with patients’ registered GPs and access to patient records for patients aged 11-18 years. We checked these areas as part of this focussed inspection and found the service had taken prompt action to put in place effective processes to address the areas identified for improvement during the previous inspection.
Doctor Care Anywhere provides consultations with GPs via online conferencing. Patients pay either a subscription to the service or purchase a one-off consultation, and the service also holds contracts with large companies to provide GP consultations to their staff and with insurance companies for the benefit of their members. Patients are able to book appointments at a time to suit them and with a GP of their choice via an online portal. GPs, working remotely, conduct consultations with patients and, where appropriate, issue prescriptions.
Our key findings were:
- The provider had effective systems in place to check the identity of patients, which included checking photographic identity documents.
- The provider had processes in place to ensure that young people, who were assessed as having capacity to make decisions about their care, could keep their medical records private from their parent/guardian. These arrangements complied with national guidance.
- The provider had processes in place to collect information about patients’ registered GPs, and encouraged patients to provide consent for information to be shared with their registered GP. In cases where patients did not provide consent, GPs would make a decision about whether it was in the best interest of the patient to provide treatment.
- The provider had introduced a system for information sharing with the GPs who worked for them, most of whom worked remotely. All GPs working for the service had access to an online platform which was used for information sharing, online discussion, and peer support. We also saw evidence of this platform being used for educational purposes, such as group discussions about case studies.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice