Two Northern Ireland pharmacists today (May 27) announced the launch of ConsultTed – a “digital consultation platform” created to reduce pressure on “overstretched GPs and hospitals” by “promoting smarter use of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines”.
Founded by Neil Sharpe and Stephen Toland, the “groundbreaking new app” is “set to generate up to £30,000 annually per participating pharmacy, without increasing workload”, they claimed.
Read more: ‘Amazon-style’ script tracker to expand to 60% of pharmacies
The platform is already live in four pilot pharmacies across Northern Ireland and is planned to be rolled fully “across the island of Ireland” by August with “pilot sites” launching in the Republic of Ireland in the “coming weeks”, they added.
According to the duo, they then plan “to establish ConsultTed as the leading minor illness consultation platform across the UK and Ireland, forging new partnerships with healthcare stakeholders”.
They told C+D that while they are initially focusing the rollout on Northern Ireland, they plan to roll the app out across the rest of the UK before the end of the year.
“Same-day treatment”
The app has been backed by “six-figure” funding raised in a pre-seed investment round and “empowers community pharmacies to take a leading role in managing minor illnesses”, Sharpe and Toland said.
“ConsultTed provides a scalable, auditable and accessible system for pharmacy teams to consult, advise, treat or refer patients, improving outcomes for both patients and the wider health service,” they added.
And they claimed that the app “could help save the NHS an estimated £1.7 billion annually”, as well as boosting the UK economy by “£350 million a year by reducing unnecessary NHS visits and helping employees manage their health more efficiently”.
Read more: Under 1.5k pharmacies using NHS app prescription tracker feature
Toland stressed that “community pharmacy has so much more to offer in solving the healthcare crisis”.
“By digitising the traditional everyday consultation and giving pharmacy teams the right tools, ConsultTed can be part of a real solution” by helping patients “access same-day treatment”, he added.
And Sharpe said that they hope the app will “help restore healthcare to a more patient-friendly, accessible system”, allowing pharmacies to “play an even greater role in frontline care”.
Read more: Pharmacy2U launches app combining pharmacy, GP, NHS, vet and wellness services
It comes as NHS England (NHSE) last week revealed that its “Amazon-style” prescription tracking feature is set to be rolled out to “nearly 5,000 more pharmacies” over the next year.
The announcement came after government officials revealed earlier in the week that take-up of the tracking feature on the NHS App is currently limited to just 15% of English pharmacies.
