Digital triage in GP: enhancing access to care or increasing inequalities? (The King's Fund, August 2025)

Summary

In recent times, general practice has had to respond to rising volume and increasing complexity of need, with each full-time GP now responsible for an average of 2,257 patients – 320 more than in 2015. Practices are having to rethink how patients access care, with one of these innovations being ‘digital triage’ – online tools that assess patients and direct them to the most appropriate care.

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated this change, with national guidance recommending a digitally enabled ‘total triage’ system, which meant that all patient requests were screened remotely before being triaged to an appropriate pathway or consultation style. The government has also pledged to make a shift from analogue to digital one of the core elements of the NHS agenda in the 10 Year Health Plan. ‘Digital triage’ aims to streamline patient access in order to improve efficiency in GP practices, but there are concerns that it could widen health inequalities by adding barriers to accessing care.

GP trainee Ellie Watkins explores whether digital triage improves access to care for everyone or risks widening inequalities further.