Primary Care News

eConsult Health announces acquisition of Q doctor

eConsult Health has announced the acquisition of video consultation and SMS platform, Q doctor.

The company, eConsult Health, supports primary care providers with an online consultation platform, a triage tool to prioritise patients and a new solution has also recently been developed for outpatient care.

The acquisition of Q doctor is the latest step in its growth story, having secured a £7 million investment from Gresham House Ventures and Calculus Capital in October 2020 to support expansion into the secondary care market.

Both companies were founded by NHS doctors, and have partnered across the NHS for the past few years. The eConsult Health tools are used by 3,330 GP practices and nine hospitals, with the Q doctor platform used by 500 GP practices. Recently it supported urgent and emergency care and out-patients, including an STP-wide contract in Lincolnshire.

Dr Murray Ellender, CEO of eConsult, commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Chris and the Q doctor team into the eConsult family. By extending our offer to include video and SMS we are continuing to deliver on our mission to support the UK’s hard-working GPs who are under great pressure at the same time as improving access for patients across the country.”

Q doctor’s founder and CEO Dr Chris Whittle has been appointed to its executive leadership team and his team will officially become part of  eConsult.

Dr Chris Whittle, said:“After nearly two years of successfully partnering with eConsult to deliver our combined service to GP surgeries across the country, this decision was a natural and exciting one – as it gives our customers a much stronger, combined offering. Murray and the team share our core values and our determination to transform digital healthcare.”