Telemedicine: The increasing prevalence of digital consultations

It is likely that this trend will continue as healthcare providers, governments and patients alike face tightening healthcare budgets, increasing energy costs and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis – for example, many solutions are driven by public-private partnerships with a view to reducing waiting times and clearing backlogs in the NHS.

Monthly snapshot: Percentage of GP appointments conducted digitally
January 2020 15%; January 2021 41%; January 2022 43%; January 2023 36%

By way of example, data published by NHS England evidence a notable increase in the percentage of virtual GP appointments when comparing the percentage of digital consultations (including telephone appointments and appointments undertaken through video/ online means) before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with this figure almost tripling between January 2020 and in January 2022. The statistics indicate that, although more appointments are being held in person now than in the midst of lockdown, the percentage of digital consultations is still around double that immediately prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst the primary contributor to the increase in digital consultations between 2020 and 2023 is most likely to be the COVID-19 pandemic, the fact that the percentage of digital consultations remains around double the figure immediately prior to the pandemic indicates that other factors are driving an increased reliance on telemedicine.

These may include:

technological development: continued reliance on, and further development of, digital health technologies and working practices (some of which may have been utilised in direct response to the pandemic in the first instance)

rising provider costs: increased overhead costs (e.g. energy, facilities and personnel) driving healthcare providers to streamline the methods used to deliver appointments

individual circumstances: the convenience of providing or receiving healthcare remotely from a healthcare professional’s or patient’s perspective without the need to travel, whether due to time constraints or for other reasons

budgetary and resource strain experienced: finding efficiencies in patient consultation where wait times are impacted by widely reported budgetary and resource strain in public healthcare

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