Written question asked by Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 17 October 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 October 2024 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Wednesday, 23 October 2024. A substantive answer was provided by Stephen Kinnock (Labour) on Thursday, 24 October 2024 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

General Practitioners: Telemedicine

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce risks to patient safety from the use of online consultation tools in general practice.

Answer

Although patient safety incidents related to online consultation tools are extremely rare, even a single incident is one too many, and the Government takes them very seriously. NHS England published the Primary Care Patient Safety Strategy (PCPSS) on 26 September 2024 which builds on the 2019 Patient Safety Strategy, and outlines how the National Health Service will continue to enhance patient safety in primary care.

Commissioners and primary care providers can purchase digital tools from approved suppliers in the Digital Care Services catalogue. These suppliers must ensure they show compliance with clinical risk management standards. Integrated care boards should involve general practice staff and patients in the procurement process, and provide support for safe and effective tool implementation. Only services that meet required standards, including patient safety, can be procured. The PCPSS sets out additional safety requirements for suppliers to meet in future procurements.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 9799
Session: 2024-26
Subjects: Health services General practitioners Patients Safety Telemedicine
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

General Practitioners: Telemedicine

Secondary information

Librarians' tools