Should remote access to GP services be provided through tele-medicine for those in remote and rural locations?
There is a strong consensus in favour of remote access to GP services through tele-medicine, in the right circumstances. Such a technology has the potential to greater efficiency, to cut costs, lower waiting times and also provide environmental benefits from travel costs avoided. The provider of care can regulate provision and should do so within a properly evaluated framework. For those who are in special situations – isolated from health services by work or imprisonment, for instance – remote access of this type carries a very high value. The College’s view is that there is plenty of justification for tele-medicine to enhance equality of access to public health care, albeit with risks in offering lower than acceptable levels of care through tele-medicine if there are not the right checks, balances, regulation and evaluation. We commend tele-medicine as a technology with great potential for public health good, and benefits for efficiency and the environment.
