Video consultations - public and clinician views: consultation summary

Conclusions

This engagement exercise has demonstrated strong support for Near Me video consulting services from both the public and clinicians.

Going forward, health and care services should offer video consulting whenever it is appropriate, considering both clinical and social factors. This should be combined with person-centered choice to deliver the vision of care described in Realistic Medicine.

Service providers should stop making generalised assumptions about the groups of people who can or cannot use video consulting, and enable individuals to make their own choice whenever possible.

Further work is required to maximise the benefits of Near Me, including raising awareness of the service, increasing the use across services, addressing digital exclusion, improving patient information, and expansion and/or creation of local hubs for people to use Near Me.

Guidance to further embed the use of Near Me should be developed in collaboration with professional bodies, including use in social care and the wider public sector.