Patient Guide

Introduction

This Patient Guide describes the online Internet healthcare service, which is provided by Anytime Doctor (Anytime Medical Limited, trading as Anytime Doctor), Independent Medical Agency. The Guide is available for patients and prospective patients and is reviewed on an annual basis. Any comments on the content of the Guide are welcome.

At Anytime Doctor we provide a safe, bespoke and confidential alternative to the NHS and expensive private doctors. Anytime Doctor caters for men and women (over 18 years old) who want to be treated quickly and without fuss by experienced healthcare professionals within a non-judgemental environment. Patients who choose to access the online healthcare services provided by Anytime Doctor will normally be self referred. This is normally done by accessing the web site of www.anytimedoctor.co.uk. We have spent considerable time developing our online postal clinic service for people who are too busy to attend a clinic and yet require specialist care all from the comfort of their own home.

Please note that we do not provide consultations or treatments to anyone under 18 years of age.

Anytime Doctor offers private consultations, medical diagnoses and prescribing of some medicines in accordance with patients' individual wishes, but always subject to strict medical assessment for individual suitability. During an initial consultation, patients will be invited to complete a confidential online health questionnaire and once submitted, will be carefully assessed by a GMC-registered doctor to offer a diagnosis. Once a diagnosis has been made, recommended medicines will be advised for purchase along with individual costs. Information will also be given of the expected effects and potential side-effects of each medicine in the form of the patient information leaflet that comes with the medicines.

All correspondence with Anytime Doctor is confidential. Your details are not passed back to your GP without your consent. When you register, a secure online patient record will be automatically created for you. You can also ask for your entire online medical record to be deleted once your episode of care has been completed.

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Anytime Doctor (Anytime Medical Limited, trading as Anytime Doctor) is a UK company registered at Companies House (registration number 06646958). Anytime Medical Ltd. provides an online Internet healthcare service available at www.anytimedoctor.co.uk which includes confidential health consultations, medical diagnosis advice and prescribing of medicines.

Anytime Doctor aims to be the leading private online medical clinic within the UK. Anytime Doctor understands that patients have the right to choose between the NHS and a private service that responds to patients needs.

Anytime Doctor recognises its obligation to ensure the quality of care given to patients and its responsibility to ensure that the doctors who receive practising privileges to practice within Anytime Doctor are of appropriate and satisfactory standard. Anytime Doctor will ensure that all staff: including medical staff, take part in appraisal and revalidation. Medical staff will work within the Good Medical Practice guidelines issued by the General Medical Council (GMC).

The care provided by Anytime Doctor complies with the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 , and the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 . We regularly review clinical practice and undertake clinical audit to ensure the maintenance of clinical standards.

Patients are requested to contact a doctor for all medically related enquires via their patient record, which is automatically set-up once a patient registers. A patient, who calls the Anytime Doctor telephone line, will speak to a support professional who is not a clinician, but they can inform you of the range of services and take messages for a patient co-ordinator to call you.

Whilst the medical services offered at Anytime Doctor are very low risk when compared to other medical services such as surgery, patients should be aware that there may be side-effects from any medication they are personally prescribed. In addition patients should be aware that no test for sexually transmitted infections is 100% accurate and that no treatment is guaranteed to treat the condition for which it is prescribed.

1. The Importance of your Medical History

Your doctor is only able to provide you with the best advice if you provide them with every requested aspect of your past medical history, including illnesses, operations, drugs, allergies and any significant family history of disease. Your personal safety is paramount in your doctor's mind. If you withhold any relevant information then you are potentially placing your own well being at risk. Please be honest and if you are unsure about any of your answers to the medical questionnaire, please verify the information with your GP before using the service.

2. Informed consent

You agree that by requesting treatment, you will provide any requested details of your medical history and that you formally give your consent for a doctor to prescribe you treatment. You also agree that by requesting a sexual health screen/test that you give your informed consent to undergo the particular test/screen in the manner of Anytime Doctor's service for testing/screening.

3. The Role of Your GP

Your GP is responsible for your day to day healthcare and Anytime Doctor strongly recommends that you keep your GP advised if you take a test or are treated with medicines. However, we are obliged to point out that you have every right to keep this matter private if you wish to do so and Anytime Doctor will not pass your medical record to your GP without your consent.

4. Prescribing doctors

Dr Philip Veal MB BCh BAO (2003) DMH BSc MSc FFPH MRCGP (GMC registration number 6074658). Dr Veal studied at Queen’s University Belfast qualifying in 2003 and became a Member of Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) in 2007. He holds a postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health and a Masters Degree in Public Health. Within the Public health space Dr Veal also has a passionate interest in outbreak management and programmes to address antimicrobial resistance.

Dr Natalie Summerhill MB BS (2007) RCGP DRCOG DFSRH (GMC registration number 6074658). Dr Summerhill is a GP with a dedicated interest in womens health and menopause. She qualified from Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’s (GKT) School of Medical Education in London in 2007. She qualified as a GP from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in 2015 and has undertaken specialist training in women’s health having achieved diplomas from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (DRCOG) as well as the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health (DFSRH). She has the Letter of Competence from the FSRH for both coils and implants. She is a member of the British Menopause Society (BMS) and was a member of the programme planning committee for the 2020 BMS Annual Scientific Conference.

5. External Clinical Assessor

Dr Thevaky Jogarajah MB BS (1980) DRCOG DFSRH MRCGP (GMC registration number 3382419). Dr Jogarajah is an experienced GP and former clinical lead Partner at a GP Practice in Watford. She also is a Diplomate of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare.

By registering on the Anytime Doctor website (www.anytimedoctor.co.uk), patients can communicate with a doctor via their online patient record. Anytime Doctor is open between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). During these times, your doctor will aim to respond within hours. Patients needing non-urgent medical advice outside these times should contact their GP in the first instance.

If you suffer any side-effects from any treatment that your doctor prescribes you or if your condition(s) worsens, it is important that you tell your doctor straight away to allow your doctor to fulfil their duty of after-care and to allow your doctor to monitor the effectiveness of any given treatments. We recommend you inform your GP of any medicines you are prescribed from an online doctor.

In an emergency, patients should telephone 999 or attend their nearest Accident & Emergency Department.

Payment for prescribed medicines can be made by online credit card purchase using all major credit and debit cards. Online payments are processed confidentially using secure modern encryption via our dedicated servers and payment gateway.

In line with current legislation and company policy:

Patients wishing to request a copy of their medical records should put their request in writing to the compliance manager of Anytime Doctor. A copy of the record will be sent within 28 days of receipt of the request. Patients can also view and print their entire medical record by logging into their own secure section of the website server.

A full copy of a patient's access to medical records policy is available on request from Anytime Doctor.

As a provider of an independent healthcare service, Anytime Doctor (Anytime Medical Limited, trading as Anytime Doctor) is required by law to be registered with the Care Quality Commission as an Independent Medical Agency under the current provisions of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, and the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. As a result, the Care Quality Commission carries out formal inspection of Anytime Doctor on a regular basis. Following an inspection, a written report is published. If you would like to obtain a copy of the most recent assessment report please e-mail: info@anytimemedical.co.uk.

Alternatively, please contact the Care Quality Commission, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SZ (Tel: 03000 616161) or visit their website .

In the event that you are unhappy with any aspect of your treatment or care, please contact a Patient Co-ordinator through your patient record, who will in the majority of cases be able to resolve any issues quickly and efficiently.

Anytime Doctor also has a written complaints procedure. If you wish to make a formal complaint, you should do so in writing, to: Compliance Manager, Anytime Doctor, 12a Court Parade, Wembley, Middlesex, HA0 3HU, United Kingdom. Letters must be signed by the patient concerned. Anytime Doctor aims to acknowledge a written complaint within five working days and provide a formal response within 20 working days. A full copy of the complaints procedure is available on request from Anytime Doctor and is also available online .

All patient satisfaction is monitored through the clinical governance process. Alternatively, you may contact our regulatory body the Care Quality Commission, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SZ (Tel: 03000 616161) who monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety.

As part of providing a high quality patient-driven treatment service, a patient satisfaction survey is carried out yearly in October/November by SurveyMonkey® on behalf of Anytime Doctor. We do this to seek the views and opinions of patients on the healthcare service that is offered. The survey is in the form of a questionnaire and is available for patients to complete. We also partner with Trustpilot, who send all patients an automated email with a link to a review to complete after they have used the service.