Virtual Consultations in Healthcare (UK)
A few years ago, when I was a university student in Southampton from Newcastle Upon Tyne, I was awaiting results from a biopsy I had a month before. I was given a follow up appointment date, which was to discuss the results from the procedure. This wasn't my first biopsy and I had been with the same urologist/consultant for two years; I believe we had managed to build a good rapport. Unfortunately, I had to travel home (Newcastle) tqo days before my appointment. This meant I could not attend the follow up appointment as planned. If you think getting a GP appointment is hard, getting an appointment with the urologist (at the time) was even harder! I called the urologist's secretary and asked if the face to face appointment could be changed to a telephone appointment. She wasn't sure if this was possible so I left the message with her, to hear back later that day. I got a call from the urologist (on the same day); he too informed me that he wasn't sure if it was 'allowed' to do the review over the phone and he would get back to me after confirming this. The next day, he called me and to my delight, whoever he had to confirm with had agreed to a telephone appointment.