Healthcare in the UK moving Online

The use of online healthcare is increasing rapidly and that growth is expected to continue in the next few years. A recent report showed that 75 per cent of the UK population go online to seek information about their health [1].

White Pharmacy's online doctor service is quickly becoming a viable alternative to visiting a GP and then going to a pharmacy with a prescription. Now that can all be done from home or the workplace using a mobile phone or tablet. No booking appointments, no hanging around in GP waiting rooms full of sick people, no trip to the chemist to get your pills. It can all be done online with White Pharmacy.

White Pharmacy’s approach and vision of a communication-based service that provides care and help for patients (rather than, like many of its UK competitors, just being a drug dispensary) is paying dividends as the company has reported a 33 per cent increase in patients under its care in the last year.

“We now average around 100 new registrations each week and we have nearly 14,000 patients on our books wanting online healthcare,” reported David Barrett, CEO at White Pharmacy.

The online healthcare service that White Pharmacy provides means that their patients are able to communicate directly with the pharmacy and receive help with managing their condition from a team of medical experts, resulting in advice or medication delivered within 24 hours. This service, for many, means that they can save valuable time compared to having to book and arrange an appointment with their GP.

White Pharmacy works with a number of doctors and has recently added two experienced A & E consultants to their list to meet the growing demand from patients using their all-inclusive service. And it’s not only the patients who appreciate the service, as reflected in the glowing reviews that patients have posted on Trust Pilot; the doctors also speak highly about the White Pharmacy clinic:

“I have been a doctor with White Pharmacy now for three years and I am impressed with the time that they take to nurture their staff and ensure that the best ideas and practices are implemented. Working in a team like this allows doctors to contribute to their full potential and provide the care that they would wish for their patients using the service. Initially, I was sceptical about working for an online clinic but I have been truly impressed with the company's vision for holistically managing patients with chronic pain. As doctors, we acknowledge that empowering patients is key in improving health outcomes; through the online pharmacy we can do this by providing advice, medications, and a consistent and safe service to our customers.” Dr Ed Pooley, GP.

Dr Susan Waring added, “At White pharmacy we genuinely care about our patients. We make big efforts to communicate with them using a variety of media to make sure we are delivering the appropriate care. Unlike many other online pharmacies, which are only interested in selling drugs, we see ourselves as an overall healthcare provider and take every opportunity to provide a comprehensive treatment package to each of our patients with planned follow-up wherever possible.”

Online healthcare has made great strides in recent years and, with growing customer confidence and an increasing number of registrations, White Pharmacy is leading the way as a convenient, safe and effective way for many people to deal with their medical matters.

• Digital Health in the UK – An industry study for the Office of Life Sciences (BIS/15/544 – Digital health industry study: UK market analysis – produced by Deloitte 2015)