Study highlights strong appetite for more accessible online healthcare

ONLINE consultations would make half of adults more likely to take concerns to GP, according to research by Citywest company Pure Telecom.

The study showed a strong appetite among Ireland’s adult population for more accessible online healthcare with nearly half of respondents saying they would be more likely to bring a health concern to their GP if offered online consultations.

However, only 29 per cent said that this is a service their GP currently offers.

The survey of 1,004 adults in Ireland, was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of high-speed broadband and telecoms provider Pure Telecom, to explore public sentiments about connected healthcare.

It revealed that 64 per cent of adults would be willing to have online consultations with all types of healthcare providers, where appropriate, if it meant they could help to reduce waiting times.

Paul Connell, CEO, Pure Telecom, said: “Often, it is important that we see a healthcare professional in-person to receive the appropriate care or treatment. There are other times when healthcare visits feel like they could have been more time-efficient – both for the patient and health professional – by being done online.

“Our research shows that there is an appetite among adults in Ireland for our healthcare providers to embrace connected medicine where it is appropriate.”

Although more people are managing aspects of their health using mobile apps and putting more faith in technology”, Connell says “connectivity is everything when it comes to remote healthcare.”

“Patients and medical professionals need to be able to connect as seamlessly as possible and Pure Telecom is playing a role in facilitating this through reliable, high-speed broadband.”

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