In a controversial effort to reduce the workload of general practitioners, vital NHS health checks will be undertaken electronically rather than in person.
Patients will be instructed to complete an online questionnaire, collect blood samples at home, and undergo blood pressure monitoring at a pharmacy.
The NHS Health Check aims to prevent strokes, renal illness, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain forms of dementia.
The Department of Health stated that many aspects of the check do not require a physician and that their time may be better spent.
But patient organizations worried last night that the “crazy strategy” will result in diseases being undetected, similar to what happened when GPs were absent during the pandemic.
They are concerned that some individuals will be unable to accurately complete the tests and surveys, and that many older patients lack internet access.
The NHS will test the NHS Digital Health Check on more than 2,000 individuals from three GP practices in Cornwall, intending to spread it out to a larger population. A doctor will only follow up with patients whose test findings suggest an underlying health issue.
Director of the aged advocacy group Silver Voices, Dennis Reed, stated, “This is another NHS England plot to undermine the personal link between doctors and patients.”
A health check is an opportunity for the doctor to analyze the patient’s overall health and provide lifestyle advice, such as on food, exercise, and alcohol consumption.
Significant numbers of critical conditions will be overlooked.
Approximately 80% of GP appointments were in-person before the pandemic, but this dropped to 47% in April 2020. Annually, NHS Health Checks could prevent 650 premature deaths, 1,600 heart attacks and strokes, and 4,000 instances of diabetes.
Minister for public health Neil O’Brien stated, “Innovation is important to a contemporary, forward-thinking National Health Service, and this trial will help us understand what a new digital NHS Health Check could look like in the coming years.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, the chairperson of the Royal College of GPs, stated that digital checks have the potential to motivate individuals to take an interest in their health, but a “rigorous examination” of their efficacy is required before their widespread use.
