A message-based GP consultation app has been registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Docly allows patients to fill out a questionnaire about their symptoms and a GP is able to message them via the app to offer advice on suitable treatment and, if needed, send a prescription.
Through Docly, GP practices are able to access a network of doctors without requiring patients to deregister from their regular GP. This ensures patients can get a quick response.
The service was officially registered with the CQC on 9 August and was launched in the UK a few days later, on 12 August.
Barnaby Poulton, managing director of Docly, said: “We are now helping patients who may otherwise have needed to take time off work or waited over two weeks for an appointment.
“Docly is supporting the people that need it the most, getting care to people at the right place at the right time.”
Docly, a spin-off from Min Doktor, a Swedish healthtech service, announced in June that former NHS Digital CEO, Andy Williams, had been appointed chairman of its board.
At the time of the announcement, Williams said: “I’m delighted to be chairing the board of a company working towards the digital transformation the NHS at a time when UK general practice is changing. Record numbers of GPs are facing burnout and are leaving the NHS.
“Docly offers the option for doctors to work flexibly, conduct consultations in their own time and stay in practice. Docly already has a track record of offering primary care services through the right channel at the right time in Sweden and it’s a pleasure to bring this successful approach to the UK.”