I was playing tennis with my wife last week when a sharp pain in my knee brought the game to an abrupt end.
As well as injuring my pride — it ended the game when my wife was two sets up — it also left me limping and I wanted immediate professional medical advice on whether treatment was required.
I got in touch with my GP surgery, but there was no appointment available for several days.
This is not uncommon; as many as one in 20 people in the UK have to wait for more than a month to see a GP.
Next, I considered a trip to my local hospital Accident & Emergency department, but knew I could be facing a few hours in the waiting room.
Online doctors: Remote GP consultations cost from £29 for a short appointment in which you can tell a doctor about your ailment and seek their advice on treatment
So instead, I decided to try a ‘remote GP’ service. These are private companies that offer appointments with a GP over the phone or on a video call using your smartphone.
They cost from £29 for a short appointment in which you can tell a doctor about your ailment and seek their advice on treatment.
They can write prescriptions should you need and arrange for them to be sent to your nearest pharmacy for you to pick up. They can also make referrals if you need more specialist treatment.
You hand over your details including address, age and gender — as well as payment details. However, your NHS medical history is not accessed as part of the consultation.
Watch out for hidden costs
However, while the headline prices looked attractive, I soon discovered swathes of hidden extras.
For example, Tap GP charged £39 for a ten-minute consultation. But if you need a sick note from the doctor, for example to give to your place or work or education, it charges an additional £9. It charges the same sum to make a referral. Others do not charge extra for such services.
Private remote GPs are able to issue prescriptions, but they must be paid for privately rather than on the NHS.
That means that you would have to pay for prescriptions even if you usually get them for free on the NHS. Prescriptions on the NHS cost £9.90 per item, but may be more if issued privately.
The cheapest appointment that I could find with a remote GP was £29 with a firm called Medicspot. However, the small print revealed that this was only for an ‘off- peak’ time, which could be four days away.
The main appeal of these services is that they are available seven days a week — usually between 8am and 10pm. A same day emergency ‘express’ appointment with Medicspot costs £59.
Some services require you to pay for an appointment before you are allocated a specific time, while others allow you to book an appointment at the same time as paying. If you want reassurance of when your appointment will be, opt for the latter.
A number of services offer a standard appointment time of just ten minutes — but charge you more if you go over that.
For example, The GP Service charges £49 for ten minutes. Pass this limit it costs a further £49 — so a 15-minute consultation could end up costing your £98 or if you opt for half an hour it would cost you £147.
Bupa warns against trying to save money by paying for a short consultation. A Bupa spokesman says: ‘An initial consultation of 30 to 45 minutes can be a good idea because you may find it takes this long to get to the real reason someone is calling.
For example, they may have an embarrassing issue such as bladder control, that only comes out after skirting about starting by discussing some related issue.’
Get a FREE appointment
Many critical illness, income protection and health insurance policies offer free access to private remote GP appointments.
Providers that offer this service include life insurer MetLife, Bupa and Legal & General, Royal London, Aviva and HSBC.
Medication: Remote GPs can write prescriptions should you need and arrange for them to be sent to your nearest pharmacy for you to pick up
These policies typically have 24 hour-a-day access to experts who can immediately book you in to talk to a qualified GP on the phone or online.
Alan Lakey, director at critical illness cover comparison website CIExpert, says: ‘The benefits of having remote access to a GP are considered extremely valuable — but many customers are still unaware they even exist within their policies.’
Employers often offer such appointments as a perk. So before forking out for an appointment, check that you are not already eligible for a free one.
Pick out a reputable firm
The professional body that represents doctors, the British Medical Association (BMA), says there is no substitute for one-to-one personal care.
A spokesman says: ‘We advice you to see a doctor in person whenever possible — ideally someone who has seen you before so there is a continuity of care. An example of how important a one-to-one consultation is back pain.
‘With an online consultation the doctor may go no further than this problem — but you could be masking a more serious underlying issue such as cancer that can only really be picked up by spending time with a patient.’
The Mail’s GP columnist, Dr Martin Scurr, advises face-to-face appointments. He says: ‘It’s very difficult when a doctor has never met someone, doesn’t know their personality or medical history, for them to provide responsible medical care via an online consultation or phone call.’
If you do decide to seek help online, ensure you are getting support from a qualified doctor who is a member of a reputable body.
Visit gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/the-medical-register#searchtheregister and tap in a doctor’s name and it is possible to verify their credentials.
Seeking out doctors who have worked for the NHS is another badge of quality to consider as it demonstrates a standard of training and experience with British hospitals and medical centres. Remote GPs advertising NHS credentials included Livi and Tap GP.
Providers such as GP Care Now and Medicspot also included names and profiles of the doctors available to talk to. While no guarantee of quality it was reassuring they were happy to provide their names.
Already covered? Many critical illness, income protection and health insurance policies offer free access to private remote GP appointments
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, adds: ‘It’s important that we harness advances in technology to improve care and choice in the ways we deliver care for patients, as long as it’s done safely.
‘Over recent years we have seen many services offering remote general practice consultations for a fee — and some patients find these convenient and helpful, particularly for simple medical problems.
‘If patients do decide to use these services, we would suggest choosing services that follow GMC guidelines on safe remote consulting and prescribing and are verified by the Care Quality Commission.
‘They should also be aware that the healthcare professional they consult with may not have access to their NHS medical records.’
Which?, says: ‘Search engines such as Google allow firms to advertise to put their names at the top. This should not be viewed as a recommendation.’
I chose a remote GP service offering an appointment in under two hours’ time. I downloaded their app on my smartphone in advance and logged in a few minutes early so I was ready to go.
At the allocated time, a doctor appeared by video on my screen and asked to see my proof of identity before talking to me about my knee. After the call, the GP emailed me details of the call so I could share them with my GP.
It was nothing like seeing my usual GP — but having an appointment in under two hours was impressive, even if I did have to pay for it.