Online patient engagement platform HotDoc has relaunched its telehealth platform after a five week pause prompted by concerns from GPs the platform would funnel patients away from their regular clinicians.
The platform launched a trial of its Telehealth On Demand service for patients requesting a same-day telehealth consult where they could be matched up with GPs who had availability within two hours.
However, a number of GPs were concerned that the way the booking process operated on the HotDoc website compromised existing patient/doctor relationships.
The pilot showed patients multiple options when booking an appointment from the homepage, listing the patient’s regular clinics as well as an option for Telehealth On Demand with other clinicians.
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Backlash from doctors saw HotDoc pause the pilot service in July.
The startup’s chief executive Dr Ben Hurst said many health professionals had taken the time to share their honest thoughts about about the pilot and it was clear HotDoc “got this wrong”.
Dr Hurst previously said that website showed patients multiple options when booking an appointment from their homepage, listing the patient’s own care team and below that, an option for Telehealth On Demand.
“We made a significant update to the booking flow without broader customer consultation. For that, I’m truly sorry,” he said in a statement in July.
Dr Hurst said it had not been HotDoc’s intention for the booking flow to “compromise the trusted relationships” doctors had built with their patients.
In a recent update, the HotDoc team said a new version of the Telehealth on Demand service relaunched on August 13.
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The update said the service would be separate from practice channels, so would not appear as an option when patients were trying to book with their regular doctor.
“Telehealth On Demand is designed explicitly as a safety net, not a substitute,” the statement said.
“It gives your patients a trusted interim care option when you’re unavailable. One that connects back to you, their preferred provider.”
Another key feature that was explained in the update was that, with patient consent, consult summaries can be shared back to a GP practice, in a bid to enable seamless follow-up and protecting continuity of care.
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