The future of general practice: Collective healthcare

Throughout the next decade, general practice will undergo a transformation.

Digital innovations have the potential to ease the burden on GP practice staff, ensuring that each patient can access the right care at the right time – and not at the cost of those at the heart of the community: doctors, nurses, receptionists, back office workers and more.

Promisingly, it’s a future that is emerging fast. “We’ve already seen the beginnings of this with mental health products like our online therapy service, which are aimed at both patients and practice staff, as well as new ways to manage demand and triage patients through digital doorways integrated into practice websites,”

says George Jones, director of mental health at Livi. “Services and technologies such as these can accelerate the evolution in care that our healthcare services so desperately need to counteract the stark figures we see daily.”

As explored in this report, an era of Collective Healthcare will emerge in response, with general practice becoming an institutional anchor catering for the health and wellbeing of patients and employees alike. Transformation will occur at home, giving patients access to health information and seamless signposting and provision of

resources. In the office, meanwhile, digital literacy will grow in the next decade, new services will be offered and wellness architecture principles applied, benefiting staff and patients alike.

For The Future Laboratory’s Raymond, there has never been a better time to embrace such change. “In the UK, we find ourselves in a unique moment,” he says. “It’s a state of flux, a crossroads. But, crucially, digital tools are emerging that provide an opportunity to build a new extra-ordinary instead of a new normal. In general practice,this means empowering staff and patients, and providing new levels of support.”

“The Future Laboratory is one of the world’s most renowned futures consultancies. With a unique blend of trend forecasting, consumer insight, foresight, brand strategy and innovation, we inspire and future-proof organisations.”