About 7,500 family-doctor practices across the UK must have a booking system in place so people can easily get both of the doses that Pfizer's shot requires, and so that the practices can track it and qualify for a financial incentive payment., which has stepped in to offer a booking service for family practices. And the company is in demand across the UK.
The growth has been propelled by the coronavirus pandemic, which sparked a fast-track NHS Digital accreditation so the company could provide video visits that are paid for by the National Health Service, and are free to patients. to increase its reach. eConsult was the most widely used UK online consultation platform pre-pandemic, and its product is found in 3,200 primary-care clinics, or roughly 46% all UK family doctor offices.
The startup gives doctors more control over their appointments. For example they could choose to give their patients a special code to book a second vaccination appointment exactly 21 days after their first shot, because the doses of the Pfizer shot have to be given 21 days apart. "So if you want to send out 10,000 SMSs, for example, then we charge a couple of pence per SMS," said Whittle.Whittle said the cost saving to family practices versus employing extra receptionists to manage the workload is difficult to quantify, but feedback from early adopters for flu clinics has been positive.Despite its big ambition, Qdoctor is a fairly early stage start-up.