Boots, the UK’s largest pharmacy-led health and beauty company, has announced the new stage in the digitisation of its pharmacy service with digital healthcare provider LIVI. The partnership will trial a new online video-consultation platform that connects GPs and Boots’ pharmacists, enabling professionals to provide advice to patients in a safe way through the LIVI app.

WHY IT MATTERS

Patients with the LIVI app will be able to log on and speak to a Boots pharmacist without having to potentially compromise social distancing measures. The venture will facilitate remote communication between doctors, patients and pharmacists during the COVID-19 outbreak, which will be particularly beneficial to the elderly, those with underlying health issue and others who are vulnerable to the coronavirus.

It will also bring together the digital experience of LIVI with the medical, pharmaceutical and retail expertise of GPs and Boots pharmacists to improve healthcare.

The service intends to decrease pressure on NHS Primary Care services by connecting patients directly with pharmacists.

THE LARGER PICTURE

Boots UK announced their initial partnership with LIVI earlier this year and have been slowly introducing their joint ventures into stores across the country. These include an in-store consultation room providing patient appointments with registered LIVI clinicians by tablet.

LIVI recently released their free remote consultation platform LIVI Connect to healthcare workers across Europe, to support the effort towards digital-first healthcare delivery.

ON THE RECORD

UK managing director of LIVI, Juliet Bauer, said: “We are extremely proud to be chosen by Boots UK to be its preferred digital health partner, bringing together our companies’ world-class respective expertise. With our NHS facing unprecedented pressure, we are pleased to be opening up access to pharmacists on our platform and offering more people digital healthcare opportunities.”

These sentiments were mirrored by Richard Bradley, director of Pharmacy for Boots UK, who commented: “With millions of patients self-isolating at home – particularly the elderly or those with underlying health conditions – access to expert health advice without having travel to a pharmacy or GP surgery is even more crucial. We are pleased to work with innovators like LIVI to continue transforming online and high street access to healthcare advice, medical services and medicines.”

Richard Corbridge, director of High Street Healthcare at Boots UK, highlighted the importance of the partnership at this time: “The ability to connect the primary care journey to the pharmacy outcome is high on everyone’s agenda right now, to be able to do this digitally will bring huge benefit, improving the way care can be delivered to our customers and patients.”