Digital health provider Push Doctor and NHS insourcing specialist, Medinet today announced a remote, expert service called Push Consult providing at-home patient access to hospital consultants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The partnership brings together Push Doctor’s virtual healthcare technology and Medinet’s UK-wide network of consultants in over 20 specialties.

The Royal College of Physicians recently published new guidelines reminding doctors not to prioritise coronavirus patients at the expense of other patients. The new Push Consult service follows these guidelines as it ensures that specialist care is both available to all in the recommended ‘fair and equitable way’ and is also available to patients whose regular Consultant may have been deployed elsewhere in the NHS, due to COVID-19.

The partnership is engaged with six NHS Trusts across the UK to offer the new service to outpatients from their home and will be launching in these areas shortly.

Jean Challiner, medical director of Medinet, said: “Patients will benefit from an earlier consultation than can currently be offered and from any treatment and advice that can safely be given. We will make the best use of clinical resources available, across the NHS, whether within a consultant’s own Hospital or one remote from them, where there is a need to progress care for patients. We can also enable consultants who are self-isolating, or who are at risk for their own health reasons, to continue to make a clinical contribution and to provide care digitally for patients.”

Dan Bunstone, chief medical officer at Push Doctor, said:  “The coronavirus pandemic presents many logistical, medical and ethical challenges to doctors. Through a partnership with Medinet, the Push Consult service will offer specialist consultants a solution that will enable them to continue delivering care through the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future. We hope to assist in patient access to specialised care for everyday health issues, as well as those related to this pandemic.”