iPrimary Care Limited provides online video based consultations which can include the issuing of private prescriptions. On the day of our inspection, the clinical team consisted of a male doctor and a female physician associate (physician associates work under the direct supervision of a doctor and carry out many similar tasks, including patient examination, diagnosis and treatment).

The physician associate was also the operations manager for the service and an outsourced IT team provided technical support.

The provider offers consultations to individuals or to businesses which can opt to provide their employees with an annual budget to use in a way that best suits their needs and the business. For example, the service currently provides bespoke medical advice to a company arranging overseas expeditions. The majority of iPrimary Care Limited’s patients are on individual contracts who can opt for a one off consultation or sign up to a monthly or annual plan. The provider does not have clinical premises where patients can visit.

Consultations are available between 7:00am and 7:00pm Monday to Friday and 7:00am to 12:00pm at weekends (subject to availability) but access via the website to request a consultation is available 24/7. Services are provided to children however we were told that any patients under the age of 18 years would need a parent or legal guardian to request a consultation and set up the user specific remote access. This access is then password protected to prevent unauthorised use. All initial GP consultations are carried out by video link, however subsequent consultations can be made by telephone. A protocol was in place to verify identity whereby patients presented their photographic ID to the camera.

How we inspected this service

Before the inspection we gathered and reviewed information from the provider. During this inspection we spoke to the Registered Manager and a member of the management team.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it caring?

• Is it responsive to people’s needs?

• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

iPrimary Care Limited is registered for the following Regulated Activities: Transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely and Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.