Germany Resists Launch of UK Online Doctor
Added: (Tue Jan 24 2012)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
London-based DrEd's online doctor services launched a new website in Germany. Amid widespread coverage by German national media (TV & press), German doctors react strongly to what they view as a competing business that they consider unethical.
The launch of DrEd (dred.com) in Germany on the 28th of November has led to the startup being featured in several national German news programmes (e.g. RTL, ZDF, Prosieben Galileo) and in a range of German newspapers and magazines (e.g. Der Spiegel, Bild).
The service has been criticised by the German Medical Association. In a press statement on 30 November the association said that the professional code of conduct for German doctors does not allow treatment and medical counselling without any personal contact. “Diagnosis and treatment solely via the internet cannot be in the interest of the patient,” it says.
However, the DrEd service is based in London where it is legal (for German doctors) to operate in Germany. The company employs two German-speaking doctors who are registered with the UK General Medical Council, and the company is registered with the Care Quality Commission, the UK’s regulator of health and social care.
Since August 2011 more than 700 patients have been diagnosed and treated via the site, says company spokesman Mr Jens Apermann. “The website is popular because patients sometimes try to avoid personal contact with a doctor because they are embarrassed,” he said.
The website offers online consultations and prescriptions for conditions such as impotence, the contraceptive pill, sexually transmitted diseases, high blood pressure, acne, and smoking.
Patients fill in questionnaires, answer additional questions from the doctors, and send in their data. Acute illnesses are explicitly excluded from treatment, as are patients under 18 years.
In Germany patients can choose to either receive paper prescriptions, or have their prescription medicines posted to them by a German mail-order pharmacy.
About DrEd.com
DrEd's services are suited to busy lifestyles, especially in these times of restricted access to NHS services. The convenient, secure system (electronic patient records, discreet packaging for medicines) also makes it a good alternative for people who are unwilling to consult their doctors for embarrassing conditions.
In the UK, prescription medicines are sent in the post via Royal Mail First Class, after being dispensed at the Croydon headquarters of the Day Lewis pharmacy chain.
The startup is based in Shoreditch in the heart of Tech City, East London’s technology hub that has been promoted by the government.
Media Contact Information
DrEd – Trading name of Health Bridge Ltd
81 Rivington Street
LONDON EC2A 3AY
0203 432 8370
info@dred.com