www.mddus.com LOW UPTAKE OF


ONLINE GP SERVICES UPTAKE of online GP services in England is low despite efforts to promote their use. Just six per cent of patients book appointments online while 10 per cent order prescriptions online, according to an analysis by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). This is despite recent


government efforts to encourage digital access. With effect from March 2015, all GP practices in England are required to offer online appointment bookings, repeat prescriptions and access to summary information held in patients’ records. Figures highlighted by the CAB suggest there is a considerable gap between patient preferences and patient behaviour. While more than a third (34 per cent) of patients said they would like to book appointments online, the vast majority (86 per cent) said they do not use any online services.


The CAB analysed results of


the GP Patient Survey from the past five years, with a particular focus on the most recent data published in July 2015. The survey sees questionnaires sent to 2.6


million people across England, around 33 per cent of whom respond.


The CAB’s report blames low


uptake on poor patient awareness, with less than a third (27 per cent) aware of online booking services. Technical glitches were also cited as a potential barrier, as was the requirement by some practices to attend in person to collect online login information. The report encourages


practices to raise awareness of digital tools, particularly as research suggests those most likely to use them (patients aged 18-34) were least likely to be aware of them.


DISCIPLINARY ACTION FOR OVERPRESCRIBING ANTIBIOTICS “UNHELPFUL”


CALLS for regulators to act against GPs who overprescribe antibiotics are “counterproductive and unhelpful,” the Royal College of GPs has said.


The College was commenting on new NICE guidance to help NEW YELLOW CARD APP TO


REPORT SAFETY ISSUES DRUG side effects and medical device problems can now be reported electronically using the new Yellow Card app. Free for smartphones and other mobile devices, it allows users to


highlight safety issues with healthcare products as well as keeping up-to-date with the latest news.


The launch comes as the Yellow Card scheme celebrates its 50th anniversary. It is run by the Medicines and


Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which collates and reviews reports of suspected adverse drug reactions on all licensed and unlicensed medicines and vaccines. It includes those issued on prescription as well as those bought over the counter from a pharmacist or supermarket. Yellow Cards are used alongside


other scientific safety information to help MHRA make any necessary changes to the warnings given to people taking a medicine or vaccine, or to the way they are used, to minimise potential risks.


The app can be downloaded from


the iTunes app store and Google Play for iOS and Android devices.


doctors, nurses and pharmacists promote and monitor the sensible use of antimicrobials. Overall antibiotic prescribing has been steadily increasing over


several years. In England over 41 million antibiotic prescriptions were issued in 2013-14 at a cost to the NHS of £192 million. Despite considerable guidance that prescribing rates of antibiotics should be reduced, nine out of 10 GPs say they feel pressured to prescribe antibiotics and 97 per cent of patients who ask for antibiotics are prescribed them. This has prompted calls for “soft-touch” and “hazardous” doctors


to be disciplined for prescribing too many antibiotics. The NICE guidance highlights the need for local antimicrobial


stewardship programmes and recommends setting up multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship teams working across all care settings. Professor Mark Baker, director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE, said: “We need to encourage an open and transparent culture that allows health professionals to question antimicrobial prescribing practices of colleagues when these are not in line with local and national guidelines and no reason is documented.” RCGP vice chair Dr Tim Ballard said the guidance was “sensible”


and contained a lot of useful information but he added: “We can come under enormous pressure from patients to prescribe antibiotics. We need a societal change in attitudes towards the use of antibiotics and any suggestion that hard pressed GPs - who are already trying to do their jobs in increasingly difficult circumstances - will be reported to the regulator is counterproductive and unhelpful.” NICE subsequently clarified their position, saying: “Our


recommendations are aimed at those who need to change and improve their practice. We want to support, not admonish them and we are clear that our advice on good clinical practice and the professional standards responsibilities of the General Medical Council are distinct and separate.”


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