Number of patients accessing their healthcare online set to soar in the next 10 years, expert predicts Dr Clare Gerada predicts 40% of healthcare will be accessed online by 2020 She says repeat prescriptions and appointments will all be made online Electronic consultations, instead of face-to-face meetings with GPs, are also expected to rapidly rise The number of patients who access healthcare online will grow 'exponentially' in coming years in line with increases in internet shopping and banking, a leading medic has said. There will be a rapid rise in the number of patients who have online consultations with family doctors, the former chairwoman of the Royal College of General Practitioners has predicted. Clare Gerada said electronic consultation systems could be a combination of email, telephone or video phone exchanges between patients and their clinicians or an online system of clicking through symptoms. She added that almost all appointment booking and ordering of repeat prescriptions will be done online. Change: Around 40% of medical care in Britain will be accessed online by 2020, an expert has predicted The comments come as NHS leaders issued a stark warning that primary care across London is 'unsustainable'. Health officials have opened a debate about how the future of GP services across the capital should be transformed. NHS England's London arm said that 'tweaking around the edges will not be an option' as it launched the debate. There is 'unprecedented strain' on GP practices across the capital as population growth and widening health inequalities drive up demand for services, officials said. Setting out the case for change in a new report, officials said a greater proportion of patient contacts are likely to be carried out through non-face-to-face digital channels. Some practices in London are pioneering 'remote consultation' through email, phone or video which allows people to be treated without taking time away from work, the report said. It added that the use of technology is key to the transformation of primary care. Dr Gerada, who has recently been appointed by NHS England (London) as clinical chairwoman of primary care transformation, said the number of patients who access care online will 'rapidly grow' in coming years. 'If we fast-forward 10 years there will be a much higher percentage of contacts with patients online through a different offering, just like our banking services and just like our non-grocery shopping - which I understand is going to be 80 per cent by 2020,' she said. 'I don't think it will be as high as that but I wouldn't be surprised if online access to some form of healthcare wouldn't be about 40 per cent. Many people are already using online support. Many people Google their symptoms. On the increase: Electronic consultations, instead of the traditional face-to-face meetings with GPs, are also expected to become more popular If you look at the exponential rise of how people use banking and online shopping, once we reach a tipping point where patients are comfortable to use it, doctors and nurses are comfortable with the technology and the platforms are robust, we probably will see an exponential rise in the number of people using online help through an accredited or systematic way. She added: 'If we fast-forward to 2020, online booking to GP practices, repeat prescribing will be pretty much 100 per cent. The transactional stuff will be nearly 100 per cent but the stuff that requires the consultation may well be a good bit less but I think it will grow year-on-year. Dr Gerada cautioned that any online health platform must be 'safe', adding: 'It has to be done safely otherwise you end up having a pregnant woman having a miscarriage and we say it's a urine infection, so it has to be safe.' NHS officials said that the future of general practice in London could see 'federations' of GP surgeries. These groups of practices could improve access to GP services and could also mean that basic diagnostic elements, such as blood tests, are carried out at GP surgeries so patients do not have to go to another appointment in another building, officials said. It could mean that GP practices could consolidate back office tasks such as complaints procedures, they said. There are already a number of GP federations working in areas such as Derby, Suffolk and some areas of London. Anne Rainsberry, regional director for NHS England (London), said: 'General practice and primary care in London cannot carry on as it currently is. There is a growing consensus among clinicians across the capital that it is unsustainable. General practice has broadly followed the model that was established in 1948. There is a growing consensus that we need to look at how we deliver services. GPs are saying that they cannot provide the care that they want to provide to their patients and get the outcomes they would like. She added: 'A population boom, more complex long-term conditions and longer life expectancy together with rising costs means that many doctors simply can't meet the demands placed on them. 'That can often mean a long wait for an appointment, lack of choice over the doctor you see and opening hours that don't work for working people. It also means less co-ordinated care for patients with long-term conditions which can result in fragmented care. In January, NHS England will publish a set of proposals describing what GP services in London should look like.