Commenting in Digital Health News on the recent rapid procurement to provide video consults during Covid-19, Graham Kendall, Director of the Digital Healthcare Council, said:

“Undoubtedly there is huge demand for online consultations at scale and the rapid tender process shows how quickly it’s possible to move when there’s a coordinated and determined effort.

“While the tender makes new online consultation and triage functionality available, it had a very specific scope so we expect this to be just the first step. There are some excellent providers on the list and there are many more providers that other services that go beyond the scope of the tender.

“We need to embrace all of that capability to deliver a sustainable increase in online capability both in primary care and across the wider range of care services.”