Push Doctor

Push Doctor was the UK's first platform to offer video consultations with patients online and via smartphone – offering quick, easy and convenient access to NHS-trained, GMC-registered doctors.

Push Doctor
Type of site
Private
Founded2013
Headquarters
Manchester
,
United Kingdom
Key peopleMatt Elcock, founders
IndustryHealthcare
URLpushdoctor.co.uk
Native client(s) oniOS, Android, Windows

Today, Push Doctor is a leading online GP provider and remote consultation enabler in the UK, connecting thousands of patients each week with clinicians and appointments available in minutes. Push Doctor has a current reach of 5.4 million patients. Partnering with NHS GP practices and hospitals across Yorkshire, the Northwest, Midlands, London and the South East, Push Doctor provides patients with the option of a remote digital consultation.

Push Doctor is a NHS-commissioned technology provider compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

The product offering continues to evolve in a quest to unlock the potential of remote digital consultations. The company's aim is to use technology to improve the ease, convenience and safety of health care for both the health care system and for patients.

History

The service was founded in July 2013 by Eren Ozagir and Matt Elcock. The idea came to Ozagir after falling ill on a business trip to Baltimore in the United States.[1][2] Push Doctor initially received $1.2 million in seed funding and in mid-2015 a nationwide television campaign aired to promote the service to new users.

In January 2016 Push Doctor raised $8.2m Series A funding lead by Oxford Capital, Draper Esprit and Partech Ventures.[3] Reports suggest the investment would be used to "strengthen brand position, carry out further product innovations, expand the management structure, including making key marketing and product hires".[3]

In September 2016 the service underwent a rebrand that included a new logo, revamped website, an updated iOS app and a new Android app.[4] In October 2016 SuperGroup chief operating officer Susanne Given joined the company as the non-executive chair.

In July 2017 Push Doctor raised a further $26.1m in Series B funding, taking the company's total funding to $37.5m.[5] In August 2017 Push Doctor introduced a £500 medical student grant, which is open to medical students at any UK university from their second year onwards. Ozagir said the move would "help the next generation of home-grown doctors get off to the best possible start."[6] In August 2018 Eren Ozagir stepped down as CEO of Push Doctor but remains a shareholder."[7]

The Modality Partnership started to offer online consultations using Push Doctor to more than 99,000 patients across six of the Modality practices in September 2018. If this is successful it will be extended to all of their 400,000 patients.[8]

In May 2019 appointments for children were "temporarily halted".[9] Once consultations are resumed, parents will need to link their children to their accounts as parents or guardians, and approve the sharing of their child's medical records with a GP.[10][11]

As of August 2019, Push Doctor are ISO/IEC 27001[12] certified.

Inspection history

Current inspection

A May 2019 inspection found Push Doctor to be 'outstanding' in its leadership, referring to them as "a driving force, united in their commitment to deliver and prioritise safe care to private and NHS patients". With regard to delivering safe, caring, effective and responsive care, the company was rated consistently 'good' by the CQC, with the report commenting: "The service's underpinning ethos was that patient safety was central to all of its activities. It strived to ensure care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines."[13]

Inspection Summary[14]
AreaResult
OverallGood
SafeGood
EffectiveGood
CaringGood
ResponsibleGood
Well-ledOutstanding

Prior inspections

In June 2017, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found Push Doctor to be providing caring and responsive service, that fell short in areas of safety, effectiveness and leadership. The Commission suggested that Push Doctor were prescribing high-risk medicines to patients without performing essential checks, and in one case had prescribed a medication for a use beyond its stated license. Then-CEO Eren Ozagir claimed that there were factual inaccuracies in the CQC report, and that the guidelines against which the inspection took place were completely new.[15]

In November 2017, the company failed a CQC inspection due to inadequate checks of users' ages and identities – which was then corrected in time for the August 2018 inspection, wherein the company was found to be overprescribing antibiotics.[16]

Criticisms

The Advertising Standards Authority condemned a number of advertisements in April 2018 because they "misleadingly implied the advertised service was provided by the NHS and, as a result, that it was misleading because it did not make clear a cost was associated with the service." The ASA also said that the company practice of putting reviews on its website but omitting any that were unfavourable was misleading.[17]

In July 2018 it was reported that Nicola Blackwood, the former minister for public health and innovation, had joined Push Doctor's advisory board. On reviewing the former MP's new role, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments stated there was "some risk around the potential for [Blackwood] offering the company an unfair advantage as a result of her time in office".[16]

References
  1. Gaskin, James. "Top 10 tech startups maturing in Manchester". Geektime. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  2. Hargrave, Sean. "The doctor will see you online now". Guardian. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  3. O'Hear, Steve. "PushDoctor, The U.K. Video-Based Doctor Service, Scores $8.2M Series A". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  4. Begum, Shelina. "Rebrand for Push Doctor as it introduces new services". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  5. Shead, Sam. "An app that allows you to see a doctor in minutes has been backed with $26.1 million". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  6. Wei, Amy. "Push Doctor launches grant for medical students". The Mancunion. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  7. Meddings, Salah. "Did he jump? Push Doctor founder Eren Ozagir leaves online GP app". The Times. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  8. "Major GP provider partners with Push Doctor app". Health Service Journal. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  9. "Consultations for Children: Service Update". Push Doctor. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  10. "Online GP service suspends appointments for children". Health Service Journal. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  11. "Consultations for Children: Service Update". Push Doctor. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  12. @ISOQualityServices (23 August 2019). "Big congratulations to @PushDoctor for being certified for the ISO 27001 Information Security Standard, today! 🥳 Well done! pushdoctor.co.uk" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. Push Dr Limited Inspection Report (PDF) (Report). Care Quality Commission. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  14. Push Dr Limited Inspection Report (PDF) (Report). Care Quality Commission. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  15. "CQC rates one in four online primary care services as unsafe". GP Online. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  16. "Pushing it". Private Eye. London: Pressdram Ltd. 27 July 2018.
  17. "Online consultancy Push Doctor has adverts banned for implying links to the NHS". Independent. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
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