Don’t discount ‘boring’ GP tech

Welcome to the second blog in our series of GP Tech! Be sure to read our first instalment on AI in Healthcare - Fads and Fantasies.

Recent breakthroughs in large language models (LLMs) have catapulted AI into the spotlight. Its potential to revolutionise entire industries has sparked intense interest everywhere. In healthcare, where resources are stretched particularly thin, AI systems promise to have a significant impact on workloads and improve outcomes. However, while AI attracts the spotlight, we’d also make a strong case that there are many non-AI (’boring’) technologies that can have just as much, if not more, impact.

Below, we outline key AI use cases making an impact today, followed by a discussion of other critical technology categories across primary care.

Current AI Use Cases in Primary Care

AI clearly has huge benefits and can be transformative if applied in the right way to solve the right problems. Current notable examples include:

• AI Scribes: AI-powered scribes efficiently translate natural language into concise clinical notes, patient summaries, and more. This approach offers significant benefits with minimal risk.

  
  

• Patient Assistants: AI assistants help patients with dementia better understand and manage their condition. By leveraging natural language interactions, these tools guide patients (and those around them) without the need for 1:1 contact with healthcare professionals who are already stretched thin.

  
  

• Automated Triage: AI-led automated triage tools differentiate patient symptoms and direct individuals to the most appropriate care setting. Although there is some quite major risk here (notably ‘under’-diagnosis), the potential ‘reward’ is significant with more efficient allocation of clinical resources, which could reduce unnecessary GP appointments.

  
  

• Automated Letter Processing: These tools interpret correspondence (e.g., letters from hospitals to GP practices), generating the correct clinical codes and follow-up actions. While there is some risk in missing key details, the potential time saved here could be significant and valuable (it’s often GPs who are processing letters currently).

  
  

• Personalised Care Invitations: Recall automation tools use machine learning to determine the most effective communication strategies for patient outreach. With minimal risk, since patients remain on target lists until tasks are completed, this technology can lower costs, reduce patient inconvenience, and improve care outcomes.

  
  

Of course, there will likely be a variety of other AI solution categories not covered above - either already emerging, or yet to be imagined. The key challenge will be ensuring that the right innovations are encouraged and facilitated (see “How to create change” section below).

🤔 Not all AI increases capacity - some solutions may look impressive, but don’t solve core supply-demand challenges. For example, AI chatbots for patients might seem useful but risk being just "more lanes on the motorway" rather than creating real efficiency gains. The real test is whether AI reduces workload and improves outcomes, rather than creating more work or shifting work elsewhere.

'Boring' GP tech

Beyond AI, many other classes of technology are already delivering significant benefits to Primary Care and the broader healthcare ecosystem. Currently, Primary Care tech falls into a few key categories:

1. Core Clinical Systems - The backbone of GP practices, these Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems store patient data, manage appointment books, and facilitate consultations. EMIS and SystmOne dominate the market, creating an effective duopoly (~98% market adoption). While these systems are essential, they are built on legacy technology with often outdated workflows and underdeveloped processes, creating significant frictions for users and meaningfully reducing productivity. New entrants are emerging, but the displacement of incumbents is challenging due to the formidable effort required for providers to switch. Integration with these systems is critical for any new software provider.

   
   

2. Online Consultation tools - This category started with eConsult about five years ago, and now includes a range of solutions, from simple online forms to advanced automated clinical triage systems. When used effectively, these tools can significantly impact demand management and improve GP waiting times, but there's a risk of exacerbating workload issues if not properly implemented (‘more lanes on motorway’ risk - both perceived and actual).

   
   

3. Messaging tools - Accurx effectively pioneered this space just before COVID, introducing a simple, widely adopted way for practices to message patients digitally instead of relying on letters/phone calls. While competitors have emerged, Accurx remains dominant due to its strong, user-friendly product. These tools are mature in functionality and primarily serve to streamline workflows rather than transform care delivery.

   
   

4. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tools - An emerging category using software "robots" to mimic human actions directly on existing products to complete tasks that can’t be completed programmatically (for example, because the relevant API interfaces don’t exist). Examples include automatic patient registrations or manual processing of blood test results. While valuable for filling interoperability gaps, RPA is unlikely to be a long-term solution as system integrations improve.

   
   

5. Call/recall automation - An emerging space focused on automating proactive care systems (vaccinations, screenings, long-term condition reviews, appropriate prescribing). Most practices currently rely on Core Clinical Systems and Messaging tools, but this is highly time-consuming for practice teams and often doesn’t lead to the best patient outcomes. Automating these workflows significantly reduces administrative burden and shifts patient management from reactive to proactive.

   

   
   

The GP Tech market is evolving rapidly, with new categories emerging, and growing overlap between competitors as leading providers expand their offerings (e.g. Accurx moving into online consultations). The overview above takes into account the majority of existing suppliers in GP Tech, but the marketplace is developing rapidly. There are also emerging overlaps where stronger/more developed tech providers are able to build new products that compete in other existing categories.

Some technologies, like video consultations and patient self-management apps, haven’t changed GP practice operations significantly. This is because either they’ve not been as useful as predicted (e.g. video consultations), or they are useful for patients but don’t necessarily reduce NHS workloads (e.g. patient self-management apps).