Why Doctors are Actually in the Early Majority

Let's review the facts about clinicians and technology

There’s a common misconception in the UK that GPs (general practitioners) are inept or unreasonably sceptical about technology. Newsflash: I’ve never met a GP who wears a cardigan or plays golf during work hours. Moreover, I’ll set out my argument that British GPs are the earliest adopters of healthtech in the world. 

The origin of the EHR

Do you know when & where the first primary care electronic health record (EHR) was launched?

No, it wasn’t Cupertino or even Manhattan.

It was in at Whipton, near Exeter, that Dr John Preece became the first GP in the world to use a computer during a consultation.

Even more incredible is that this first occurred in 1970, the year that the Beatles broke up. To repeat this point, Dr Preece created and used an EHR 50 years ago.

Dr Preece continued researching new uses for computers in medicine, co-designing a widely used drug database. He also wrote a book titled “The Use of Computers in General Practice” 

The last time I checked the majority of NHS hospitals are still using pen and paper on wards and in out-patient departments. This is gradually changing though…

Pandemic + Healthtech = Adoption

When COVID-19 struck the UK in the first quarter of 2020, Primary Care doctors were quick to adopt a telemedicine-first approach—as per NHSE guidelines—because we were concerned about vulnerable patients being exposed to COVID-19 in the waiting room. 

Don’t believe the negative press about GPs. NHS general practice was open throughout. We were working. We provided care to those who needed it. Whether that was home visits for palliative care patients or elderly patients struggling and isolated, or hot feverish kids.

We may not have had the front door unlocked, but you should probably have been staying at home anyway. In addition to clinically indicated face-to-face appointments, we called, texted, emailed, instant messaged, and even video-called our patients.

This digital transformation was a long time in the making. Still, we essentially adopted this new way of working overnight and continued to provide high-quality holistic care for our patients. I worked throughout 2020 and through the pandemic, and let me tell you - it was brutal. 

As a clinician interested in digital transformation, I was especially proud of my fellow general practitioners and their ‘early majority’ status in terms of adoption of digital health tools and services. We weren’t early adopters like the folks at Babylon or Push Doctor. But we were way ahead of the pack within the NHS. I’m sure Dr Preece would have been proud of us.