HotDoc relaunches telehealth platform

HotDoc has unveiled its new telehealth platform, just weeks after an earlier pilot was suspended due to GP backlash.
 
Announced on Thursday, HotDoc says its overhauled ‘Telehealth on Demand’ service aims to alleviate several challenges facing practices, including the pressure to meet same-day demand and protecting continuity of care.
 
It comes after the provider ditched a previous version of the platform just five months after its launch, with the CEO admitting ‘we got this wrong’.
 
The initial pilot offered patients a platform to book low-complexity appointments without nominating a specific GP, only a practice – designed to test whether available appointments could be opened for patients who would otherwise struggle to make a timely appointment, while also ‘helping GPs fill their books’.
 
In response, the program will be relaunched on 13 August, with HotDoc saying it has ‘worked directly with GPs, practice managers and industry leaders to update the service’.
 
It comes after the RACGP previously highlighted the need for consultation with primary care providers before platforms implement changes that can impact practices.
 
‘Telehealth On Demand is designed explicitly as a safety net, not a substitute,’ HotDoc said in an email to customers.
 
‘It gives your patients a trusted interim care option when you’re unavailable. One that connects back to you, their preferred provider.’
 
Patients will only be able to access the revamped program through HotDoc’s app and website when seeking same-day telehealth, and only ‘after exhausting all other options’.
 
HotDoc says that at the same time, patients will be shown availability with their regular practice first and consult summaries can be shared back to the practice.
 
In the future, HotDoc says it hopes to include MyMedicare integration and automatic write-backs of patient consult notes into the program.
 
‘This relaunch reflects our long-term commitment: to build technology that helps you deliver better care, under mounting pressure, where existing solutions may not meet your needs,’ HotDoc said.
 
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