Attend Anywhere is a

web-based A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection. History In earlier computing models like client-serve ...

video conferencing tool which is used to provide video consultations to patients and service users through virtual clinics known as 'waiting rooms'. It is produced by a not-for-profit organisation within the Australian public health sector based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. It is used as part of health-sector or government-coordinated video consulting programmes but is not available for contracts with healthcare providers on an individual basis. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, it is available free-of-charge to Australian public hospitals and to most charities and not-for-profit organisations. The

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England are NHS England and Public ...

spurred radical shifts to video appointments as most routine outpatient appointments were cancelled. Attend Anywhere was installed across

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

organisations in England in March 2020 with backing from

NHSX NHSX is a United Kingdom Government unit with responsibility for setting national policy and developing best practice for National Health Service (NHS) technology, digital and data, including data sharing and transparency. It was established in ...

and by May 2020 had been used for more than 79,000 consultations. A

freedom of information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigeno ...

request answered by

NHS Improvement NHS Improvement (NHSI) was a non-departmental body in England, responsible for overseeing the National Health Service's foundation trusts and NHS trusts, as well as independent providers that provide NHS-funded care. It supported providers to ...

on 23 Jun 2020 revealed that "The national video outpatient consultation contract, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was procured under G-Cloud 11 and was awarded to Attend Anywhere for up to £4.85m ex VAT and runs from 17 March 2020 – 16 March 2021." It was already widely used in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The system allows patients to see a clinician via a secure, pre-arranged video call. Patients can use a computer, smartphone or tablet. The software has enabled four times as many virtual contacts to face-to-face contacts in community

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

and

acquired brain injury Acquired brain injury (ABI) is brain damage caused by events after birth, rather than as part of a genetic or congenital disorder such as fetal alcohol syndrome, perinatal illness or perinatal hypoxia. ABI can result in cognitive, physical, ...

teams in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. In March 2022

NHS Scotland NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland, ...

and the Scottish Government have renewed their contracts for another year. In Scotland it is branded as Near Me. It now includes clinical group consultations. Between January 2021 and January 2022, over 985,000 Near Me video consultations were conducted, avoiding about 47 million miles of patient travel.

References

{{health software Health care software Private providers of NHS services Companies based in Melbourne