There is no doubt internet is having a great impact on our health and well being particularly on the cardiovascular system. Now a days even communicating with general practice with simple day to day things like request for repeat prescription becomes a chore because of newer layers of security which becomes a hindrance than a help. Recently I had a minor skin problem for which the GP needs a photograph. A link is sent which often does not work and at the end of the day some of the clinical condition is more than meets the eye. The days of making an appointment are gone and often we had to go through various loops like the pharmacist and others before contacting clinician. The system of making appointment on line was supposed to be working at some time but is not. Even for people who are computer literate, communication with GP system is not all that seem to be.
Internet for health services - is it ... - British Heart Fou...
Internet for health services - is it a hindrance or help?
Totally agree. Only under 30s can use the techy techy stuff.And if you are unwell then it’s impossible. So only use the health service if you are fully fit.
Nothing to do with age, my mum was in her late 80’s, did all her shopping on-line, ordered prescriptions, played bridge on her iPad etc etc
Simply about adapting to change and accepting change.
Some people can, some can’t.
I'm 70. I order my meds online, and they are delivered next day. So much easier than the previous system. When I contact the surgery about a problem, I am asked for details, and either a GP phones for a chat, or I get an appointment, usually the same day. It's great as the surgery is not within easy reach, and I am anxious to avoid the risk of infection.
Exccuse me, I'm 73 and perfectly comfortable with using technology. Admittedly I have a son who can give advice if i'm really stuck. However we do get problems when for instance the doctor wants a photo. My husband doesn't have a smart phone, just an old clamshell phone that he can barely answer let alone take photos. When it comes to the GP he simply says |"NO I can't" and they have to find an alternative way Just last week they wanted a photo of his leg and he said no way. I could have taken one on mine but I felt they needed to realise that not everyone can use phones or internet and they need to make alternative arrangements. I order my prescriptions online; husband phones them in or goes to the surgery in person. I get texts for hospital appointments b ut we had to remove his mobile number from his records because his phone had no internet so he couldn't read them. He now gets paper copies. I'm housebound so I do all my shopping online, talk to people online and deal with doctors online. My husband pays everything by cash, won't even have a credit card; insists that nothing changes- he even demands the gas and electric send a meter reader ( and they do), won't even do telephone banking or direct debits even though it's far cheaper.
Nail on head.You are younger than me, but when you get stuck your son gives advice.
Yes technology is so very easy if there is someone to tell you how to proceed.
And it’s the younger person who gets the info on how to proceed.
Education.
Workplace.
Family.
But not for the many who do not come in to those categories.
And my AVR knocked my memory .
Very happy for those who find online easy.
But I do not.
Colin
I reared my son on his journey learning IT; helped with lessons and homework and even his degree, checking his dissertation in computer science so if I didn't learn along with him, something would have been wrong. I can't programme like he can but I'm pretty good on the rest. When I was teaching back in the 80s, computers were only just coming into schools. How fast they've progressed in such a short time.
Erm I am 57 and started computer comms in the 1980's and pioneered a lot of the technology used today. I ran a 10 phone line BBS with ISDN by 1992. I used to educate people what an E-mail was not to mention a modem... Much more low level than these days were you just use apps to do everything. I became a Analyst programmer etc etc.
Saying all this we do need more face to face appt's and I think a lot of GP practices do very little these days. Not fit for purpose. More hospital records need to be online and better computer comms across sites and in the different areas of hospitals ...
There's no problem with my GP's surgery appointments. I ring first thing in the morning, doc is told what it's about and will call me back and either chat about health problem or say go to the surgery. If I want to see a doctor that day I can.
They are rated by inspectors as Outstanding and they are.
I use their website to order repeat prescriptions and can also email a question, or book an appointment online if I should want that.
I like their system very much.
Jean
Me too. The on-line self-referral system had been very good for me, over the past two years. Very quick and efficient. And a great benefit in a rural area. Nearly all my oldie friends here are fine with internet (have to be). Just one 93 year old got frustrated with it, but he’s impatient with everything! I’m just sorry we’re back to having to ring up at the moment.
Mine's like that too. They used to allow you to book appointments too but that stopped as they got booked up same day and discovered a lot were just not necessary so they started a triage system which works well. I can get a same day face to face appointment if necessary although maybe not with the doctor I would prefer unless I'm very lucky and he happens to be on duty. If he wants to see me again then he makes the appointment himself because he knows I wouldn't get one with him for weeks.
I’m not sure it’s much to do with patient /service user age. It’s often the websites in themselves not being user friendly .The website for my surgery looks like it was made mid 90’s 🙄. I was eventually able to register to request repeat prescriptions in December 2021….
A few weeks ago after phoning like I’d done every month since i wasn’t able to actually order prescriptions ; the poor receptionist asked if I was registered with their new or old site 😯but sent off a prescription to the pharmacy during our call. I’m now registered with their new site. I’ve yet to use it but I’m not full of hope, considering..
My practice is fab with good doctors, great nurses & excellent reception staff which sadly doesn’t seem to be the case for many people. Their website is pretty poor but I’m not too bothered since I know if I need then the reception staff will sort it out for me .
N
Does your doctors have a patient partnership you could join.
I volunteered and joined ours just before the pandemic and pre illness and found it very good for a sounding board in regards to ensuring patients in general have a voice and are heard and that problems are known about by the practice and try to be addressed.
Our major problem was the phones and the waiting (certainly improved), and I fully understand why people have problems with the internet.
Hi, I’m not sure , probably they’ll have something like that set up . It’s not something I’d be able to commit time/energy to so I’d not volunteer to be part of it.
Thankfully at my practice the phones are answered quickly & the reception staff are v good at arranging call backs /face to face or virtual appointments if needed .
Hello Nina, fully understand taking early retirement helped. It was suggested I volunteer due to my background in dealing with the public and problem solving in public service.
The meetings are normally only 4 times a year and about 90 minutes in length. You don't have to attend all and can dip in and out.
Our practice are brilliant and try and consider everything from a patient point of view. They have just had a new website and digital contact I have found difficult to use (and still have concerns about security, (but that is me being paranoid).
Part of the problem with the patient partnership is that ours just has retired white people as representatives and both the practice and me wish there was a greater mx of people.
I'm 70 and I have no issues using computers and apps on mobile phones.Our surgery had to change it's operation two years ago and it's worked very well.
You phone up, tell the receptionist what the issue is and 95% of the time she schedules a call for within a few hours with a GP, if they need to see you you are given an appointment for normally later that day.
I was in the surgery last week for an appointment with the Doctor, whilst I was waiting two people, both elderly, came in demanding an appointment with a Doctor.....the receptionist resolved both of their issues on the spot......in my book she just saved two appointments.
The original post was about internet based communication with the health service. All I can do is to order prescriptions online and access some of the records held by my GP using the Patient Access service they have subscribed to for some time before Covid. As far as the NHS app is concerned and accessing my hospital records I am roughly on the geographic split between one Trust and another, However the app located me with the Trust I rarely use so that was of little benefit to me so I deleted it.
Next to get a GP appointment it's still the ring in at 08,30 to try, if necessary, to persuade the receptionist that you deserve to be dealt with on that day. And if you are, you are told they will ring back but no time given, whereas some time back you had a time slot. I also recently tried to get to speak with my GP about some recently prescribed angina meds and ended up dealing with her via an administrator, and the indirect outcome of that was I ended up back in A&E. And in spite of being able to order meds on line it is now taking a week from order to them being delivered, with the surgery taking up to three days to approve my request. In short my GP service has definitely deteriorated in the last two years.
But, all that said, I am all for telephone based consultations, which are now commonplace after Covid, where face to face is not necessary.
I'm reasonably computer literate, and my niece most certainly is, but trying to register on the surgery's new site, even with her help, proved impossible.
I am 79 and fully computer literate, I have even got my head round windows 11, no mean feat!
I find the useful at times but at other times it is not so good. I have to fill a form in online and sometimes the condition I want to talk about is not on the list. Last October I had angina problems started filling in the form and a message popped up, this can not be dealt with online, phone the surgery, on a Friday. to cut a long story short eventually I was told to go to A&E and was kept in hospital one night.The way the questions are on the form ask what treatment do you want from us? How do I know what treatment I need?
At the beginning of covid it worked better, fill a form in and you would get a message when to expect a call back.
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