You might be surprised to see the title, and unless you’ve been on a different planet recently you can’t have failed to notice the PR. Babylon/GP at Hand (their NHS service) are brilliant at finding the limelight.
The chief reason is: they offer something that people want, speed and convenience in getting medical help. Who knew?
The sites are very nicely designed, and if you think that’s easy, you haven’t tried. At present they are nicer than ours (watch this space) and looking attractive is important – people buy on emotion even if we kid ourselves that we’re logical.
People of all ages expect to do everything online, and with younger people a huge majority expect it to be on mobile. The experience must be seamless and beautiful.
A colleague of mine told how a complete stranger struck up a conversation while shopping last week. He told in amazement how he got help within an hour from GP at Hand.
But how? The business model is fantastic too. Low cost of service, with low estates overheads as so much is done remotely, and low usage from a largely fit, young, male demographic. As you all know they’ve been able to exclude children, the frail, elderly, chronically ill and women in danger of pregnancy – most of the people who need a GP.
NHS England pretty much told them to, incredible as it seems, undermining the shared risk model of local general practice. Malcolm Grant speaking today doesn’t seem to understand what this is doing to existing practices who are left with the rest. Anyway, the theme has been so well rehearsed elsewhere I won’t say more, but the reaction from GPs led by the BMA has been as pathetic as it has been predictable.
“Foul!” “Placards!” “Marches!”. Anyone would think the whole lot of them were a cartel bent on nobbling the competition with their newfangled ideas. But we know better. GPs are a fine upstanding profession who embrace innovation to improve their service to patients.
And that vote at the ARM to put a cap on daily contacts? The perfect gift for Babylon/GP at Hand, who will pick up more of those patients they have turned away. Only the profitable ones mind.
Next time I’ll look at what you can do to reverse the slide, and it won’t involve marching on Richmond House.
Babylon are getting speed and convenience right
You might be surprised to see the title, and unless you’ve been on a different planet recently you can’t have failed to notice the PR. Babylon/GP at Hand (their NHS service) are brilliant at finding the limelight.
The chief reason is: they offer something that people want, speed and convenience in getting medical help. Who knew?
The sites are very nicely designed, and if you think that’s easy, you haven’t tried. At present they are nicer than ours (watch this space) and looking attractive is important – people buy on emotion even if we kid ourselves that we’re logical.
People of all ages expect to do everything online, and with younger people a huge majority expect it to be on mobile. The experience must be seamless and beautiful.
A colleague of mine told how a complete stranger struck up a conversation while shopping last week. He told in amazement how he got help within an hour from GP at Hand.
But how? The business model is fantastic too. Low cost of service, with low estates overheads as so much is done remotely, and low usage from a largely fit, young, male demographic. As you all know they’ve been able to exclude children, the frail, elderly, chronically ill and women in danger of pregnancy – most of the people who need a GP.
NHS England pretty much told them to, incredible as it seems, undermining the shared risk model of local general practice. Malcolm Grant speaking today doesn’t seem to understand what this is doing to existing practices who are left with the rest. Anyway, the theme has been so well rehearsed elsewhere I won’t say more, but the reaction from GPs led by the BMA has been as pathetic as it has been predictable.
“Foul!” “Placards!” “Marches!”. Anyone would think the whole lot of them were a cartel bent on nobbling the competition with their newfangled ideas. But we know better. GPs are a fine upstanding profession who embrace innovation to improve their service to patients.
And that vote at the ARM to put a cap on daily contacts? The perfect gift for Babylon/GP at Hand, who will pick up more of those patients they have turned away. Only the profitable ones mind.
Next time I’ll look at what you can do to reverse the slide, and it won’t involve marching on Richmond House.
Harry Longman
What you can read next
The blood test, my story
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