Getting medicine online? Nearly half of online GPS are ‘unsafe’

Almost half of online GPS aren’t safe, with many prescribing dangerous drugs too freely, inspectors have said.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has investigated the private online market over the past 18 months, scrutinising 35 companies running services in England. These services offer video appointments through websites or apps, and enable patients to reorder prescriptions online.

During the inspection five companies ceased trading, while 13 broke safety rules, although none were named in the CQC’S report.

It identified several problems, including the large amount of opioid-based painkillers prescribed. These can be highly addictive, particularly if not combined with a plan to ease patients off them.

Inspectors also said some online GPS handed out antibiotics too readily, and failed to properly check whether medication was appropriate for patients with certain conditions, such as asthma. Moreover, the CQC called for companies to get better at confirming the identity of patients, and sharing records with NHS GPS.

However, the results were much better than a year ago, when 86 per cent of online GPS failed to meet the required standards.

Professor Steve Field, CQC chief inspector of general practice, said that while innovative online services “should be encouraged”, they mustn’t come “at the expense of quality”.

Professor Helen StokesLampard, of the Royal College of GPS, called the report “very concerning”. She added: “New services will inevitably experience some teething problems, but when our patients’ health is at risk urgent, swift action must be taken to comprehensively address these”.

The report will alarm doctors concerned about the NHS striking deals with ‘virtual GP’ services. In November, it began a trial in London with Babylon Health’s ‘GP at Hand’ app, which lets patients see doctors on their phone.

It has proved very popular, signing up over 26,000 patients, but critics say it mostly attracts younger, fitter people, leaving GPS’ surgeries overwhelmed by older patients with more complicated problems.