Thanks Dr

The Ask-a-doctor service ThanksDr has launched a search tool to find reliable medical websites.

London November 2010. This month marks the first anniversary of the information standard. This body was established to certify medical websites as being reliable. Their criteria are that the sites should be accurate, impartial, balanced, appropriately researched, accessible and well-written. There are now 35 certified sites; NHS Direct is not one of them.

Despite knowing how to go about checking a website to decide who reliable it is. In reality we not only don't make those checks when we are searching. Worse still having discovered an answer to a medical problem 4 out of 5 of us can't even recall which sites we visited to get that information [1].

ThanksDr now offers an alternative approach. Using the same criteria as the information standard ThanksDr have included over 600 websites in one search engine. The sites include all the NHS sites, other government sites, academic institutions, numerous charity sites and sites sponsored by medical publishing houses e.g. the BMJ. These sites represent a fantastic resource but they don't necessarily have the money to get noticed on Google searches.

"I think it's too much to expect people to check every website they visit one at a time." said Dr Clare Craig, Managing Director of ThanksDr, "My solution is to have a search engine where you can relax, knowing someone else has done that checking for you."

Dr Craig does not claim that this will answer every question. ThanksDr provides an ask-the-doctor service for when the information is just not on the internet or when a further explanation is needed. Any question can be asked for £25 at www.thanksdr.co.uk and an experienced British doctor will answer the question online.

Editors notes

To find out more contact Dr Clare Craig, Managing Director on 07785 340979 or clare.craig@thanksdr.co.uk.

About ThanksDr

ThanksDr is a new online service that allows patients to ask medical questions and get answers in 24 hours from British qualified, experienced Doctors.

The service costs £25 per question, which includes all follow up questions and clarifications. To ask a question, visit www.thanksdr.co.uk. All questions and customer's details are treated with the utmost confidentiality.

ThanksDr is staffed by a team of GMC-registered, British-trained Doctors, who have a minimum of seven years experiences within the NHS.

ThanksDr was created by Dr Clare Craig, who trained in medicine at both Cambridge and Oxford Universities, and is currently a consultant cytopathologist at a major London teaching hospital.

For more information, visit www.thanksdr.co.uk

Reference

1. G. Eysenbach, C. Kohler. How do consumers search for and appraise

health information on the world wide web? Qualitative study using focus

groups, usability tests and in-depth interviews. British Medical Journal 2002

March Vol 324: 573-577

British doctors launch ThanksDr, where you get quick and confidential consultations online – no appointments needed

London, UK. 14 June 2010 – ThanksDr, (www.ThanksDr.co.uk) a new online service where anyone can get expert medical advice within 24 hours from experienced, British-qualified doctors, launches today in the UK.

Frustrated by the length of queues for NHS appointments and the inability of NHS direct to manage all of its medical queries, ThanksDr has been set up with a team of leading UK specialist Doctors who are able to respond to any medical complaint, with a simple fee of £25 per condition.

Pre-launch research by ThanksDr has indicated there is a strong demand for online-medical advice:

• 1 in 4 consultations to NHS Direct, an existing consultation service staffed by both non-qualified phone operatives and Nurses not Doctors, results in a referral to a GP.

• Men cringe at the thought of seeing a doctor face to face for about 75% of common personal conditions.

• 80% of patients worry that they’ll be seen as time-wasting by Doctors, putting them off making appointments.

Dr Clare Craig, the founder and Managing Director of ThanksDr, comments:

“Until now there hasn’t been a nationwide doctor-led service which can quickly and carefully resolve patients’ medical questions in the UK. Whilst similar paid-for services exist in the US, here in the UK we have to rely either on advice given by Nurses, or wait patiently for an NHS appointment which is too short to address every concern . This system is crying out for an alternative way to get reliable thoughtful advice.”

The need for intelligent and professional advice tailored to the individual comes partly as a response to the availability of ‘health’ information on the internet, much of which can be misleading, ill-informed, and cause people to fixate on unlikely worst case scenarios. Recent research showed that a third of people searching for advice on common complaints, would go on to worry about rare and grave, often fatal diseases*.

“ThanksDr cuts through all this worry and misinformation by providing its users with a timely, professional, expert opinion and advice from British Doctors,” continued Dr Craig, “The art of medicine is not just matching symptoms to diseases it is about weighing up probabilities for an individual.”

To get an expert opinion and advice on any medical concern, simply ask your question at www.ThanksDr.co.uk. For June 2010, ThanksDr has an introductory offer where any medical question will be answered for £15. The service is only available for UK residents.

ThanksDr research

Research undertaken by ThanksDr highlighted that the most embarrassing medical condition for men and women, where they’d rather get confidential online advice than seek a doctor’s appointment was a Sexually Transmitted Disease. The research also showed:

Mental health issues were rated as more embarrassing than a testicular lump for men or excess body hair for women.

Overall men were 37% more embarrassed about mental health issues than women and twice as embarrassed if they imagined having to see their GP about dementia.

Surprisingly seeing a GP about a breast lump was considered one of the least embarrassing conditions less embarrassing than diarrhoea.

Men are more than 6 times as embarrassed to see their GP about enlarged male breasts (“man boobs”) than women are about breast lumps.

Women by contrast were more grown up about their health, with only 13% of women embarrassed by traditionally taboo subjects like menstruation and fertility problems.

Predictably the conditions that cause women most embarrassment were sexually transmitted diseases with only 1 in 8 women who would not be embarrassed to see their GP compared with 1 in 20 men.

Flatulence was three times as embarrassing and constipation twice as embarrassing as diarrhoea.

Across both sexes, socially awkward conditions or those for which people perhaps feel more responsible were much more embarrassing than those likely to be attributed to external factors e.g. flatulence rather than diarrhoea.

Patients embarrassed about fears

The level of embarrassment depends on the GP with gender playing an important role. For one woman the most embarrassing situation would be “to admit that [my GP’s] line of care didn't seem to be working as I hold him in such high regard.” While others added that what would be embarrassing for them would be admitting to a fear of cancer or other serious illness like Alzheimer’s.

The top 10 embarrassing medical conditions for Men and Women are

Men

1. Sexually Transmitted Disease

2. Erectile problems

3. Foreskin problems

4. Enlarged male breasts

5. Incontinence

6. Anal problems - itching / pain / bleeding

7. Body odour problems

8. Mental Health

9. Potentially being a time waster

10. Testicular lump

Women

1. Sexually Transmitted Disease

2. Itchy vulva

3. Anal problems

4. Offensive vaginal discharge

5. Body odour problems

6. Potentially being a time waster

7. Incontinence

8. Pain on intercourse

9. Flatulence

10. Drink / drug related problems

NHS Direct costs more than asking a doctor online

ThanksDr costs less, and is staffed by Doctors, not Nurses

London, 30th July 2010: According to the latest figures released at the NHS Direct AGM, each call made to Nurses employed by NHS Direct now costs the taxpayer over £26 ⁽¹⁾. With over 5 million calls dealt with in the last year, the CEO of NHS Direct says the cost of providing the core service was £131 million pounds. As a comparison, the newest online service available to anyone in the UK, http://thanksdr.co.uk, which is staffed entirely by Doctors, costs only £25.

How do the two services differ? NHS Direct is a government funded body, but when you call, you speak to a medically unqualified phone operative, or a Nurse. ThanksDr is staffed by British qualified, experience Doctors. Whilst ThanksDr is an online service only, 50% of all queries are dealt with within an hour.

"The UK lags behind other countries in our provision of online health services. Whilst the NHS Direct website has been a good starting point, we needed a doctor-led service which can provide professional opinions and better customer support," says Dr Clare Craig, founder and Managing Director of ThanksDr.co.uk. "We've had a huge amount of positive feedback since launcing only a month ago, and have answered 50% of our queries within an hour."

Why does NHS Direct cost so much? Partly it's staffing problems. According to the report, this year the proportion of staff leaving within a year of joining rose to 33% from 20% last year and there was also a rise in sick leave with 9.6% of frontline staff absent. These factors both contribute to only 69% of phone operatives' and nurses' working time being spent with patients ⁽²⁾.

NHS Direct claim to be cost effective by preventing unnecessary visits to GPs and emergency services, however, in their latest report they state that they've been unable to deal with 40% of calls, having to refer them to other services.

In July, Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA's GPs committee, called the call centre part of NHS Direct "an interposition between the patient and healthcare" amidst pressure on the Government to scrap the call centre. Ignoring this advice the Government plans for a new 111 number to be run alongside NHS Direct as the first port of call in accessing non-emergency healthcare, further increasing financial pressures on the NHS and burdens to the tax payer. This must call into question the future of NHS Direct.

Editors notes

To find out more contact Dr Clare Craig, Managing Director on 07785 340979 or clare.craig@thanksdr.co.uk.

About ThanksDr

ThanksDr is a new online service that allows patients to ask medical questions and get answers in 24 hours from British qualified, experienced Doctors.

The service costs £25 per question, which includes all follow up questions and clarifications. To ask a question, visit www.thanksdr.co.uk. All questions and customer's details are treated with the utmost confidentiality.

ThanksDr is staffed by a team of GMC-registered, British-trained Doctors, who have a minimum of seven years experiences within the NHS.

ThanksDr was created by Dr Clare Craig, who trained in medicine at both Cambridge and Oxford Universities, and is currently a consultant cytopathologist at a major London teaching hospital.

For more information, visit www.thanksdr.co.uk

References

1. http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/en/About/AGMBoardMeeting

2. http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/en/About/~/media/Downloads/Annual%20report%202009-10.ashx

After death of NHS Direct is it time to call the doctor?

With the demise of NHS Direct will we be accessing medical advice from doctors online?

London, 29th Aug 2010: Andrew Lansley accidentally let slip this week that NHS Direct is to be replaced by the new 111 service which is currently being piloted. No-one is quite sure how the new service will differ from the current one but NHS Direct CEO, Nick Chapman has admitted that there will be fewer trained nurses working for the new 111 service. This proposed reduction in nurses will presumably mean more patients being told to seek advice elsewhere after they have called the service. Already NHS Direct refer 42%⁽¹⁾ of callers to out of hours services with many others told to make an appointment to see their GP for advice over the next few days or weeks.

So what does this mean for patients wishing to seek qualified advice? Well, there is a new online doctor service called www.thanksdr.co.uk which is set to provide much needed expertise, enabling people to get answers from Doctors. The service is email based and patients can have an online conversation with a doctor for £25.

"The UK lags behind other countries in our provision of online health services. Whilst the NHS Direct website has been a good starting point, we needed a doctor-led service which can provide professional opinions and better customer support," says Dr Clare Craig, founder and Managing Director of ThanksDr.co.uk. "We've had a huge amount of positive feedback since launching only a month ago and 18% of our questions have been from returning customers."

Over half of the ThanksDr enquiries have been from people wanting a second opinion for themselves or a loved one, often because of a concern that something has been missed or a mistake has been made. Others have used the service as a first contact with a doctor; to seek information that they have been unable to find elsewhere or to ask about an embarrassing condition. One 47 year old user of the site commented "I do feel reassured and not so confused about the conflicting information available. Many thanks for excellent service."

Editors notes

To find out more contact Dr Clare Craig, Managing Director on 07785 340979 or clare.craig@thanksdr.co.uk.

About ThanksDr

ThanksDr is a new online service that allows patients to ask medical questions and get answers in 24 hours from British qualified, experienced Doctors.

The service costs £25 per question, which includes all follow up questions and clarifications. To ask a question, visit www.thanksdr.co.uk. All questions and customer's details are treated with the utmost confidentiality.

ThanksDr is staffed by a team of GMC-registered, British-trained Doctors, who have a minimum of seven years experiences within the NHS.

ThanksDr was created by Dr Clare Craig, who trained in medicine at both Cambridge and Oxford Universities, and is currently a consultant cytopathologist at a major London teaching hospital.

For more information, visit www.thanksdr.co.uk

Reference

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/en/About/~/media/Downloads/Annual%20report%202009-10.ashx