Why you should read this article:

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To appreciate the changes that eConsult can bring to the staff and patient experience

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To understand how eConsult can enhance patient care and ease staff workload

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To reflect on how digital care delivery needs to reflect patient preference and accessibility

A complete telephone triaging model was introduced at Hillview Surgery in London as the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown began, enabling doctors, nurses and clinical pharmacists to treat more patients through telephone and video consultations, and reducing the number of face-to-face consultations and home visits. The high volume of calls was unsustainable, so the practice explored other methods of communicating with its patients, including email and the online triage and consultation tool eConsult. The authors report on their experiences of using these new systems and their benefits for patients and staff.