GP leaders question withdrawal of RCGP exam consultation recording tool
A free recording tool used by GP registrars will be removed this month, prompting GP leaders to seek assurance from the RCGP about a replacement.
FourteenFish Consult – used by GP trainees to record consultations – is to be withdrawn by the app’s developers from 14 October.
The recording tool was developed to be used for the Recorded Consultation Assessment (RCA), part of the MRCGP exam for which GP registrars submitted recordings of 13 consultations.
The RCA was replaced in 2023 by the Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA), which entails twelve simulated consultations with ‘patients’ played by actors.
An RCGP spokesperson told Pulse: ‘After the withdrawal of the RCA, the RCGP no longer maintained a contractual relationship with Fourteen Fish in relation to the Consult tool and is therefore unable to influence this decision taken by Optum due to low usage.’
Despite the phasing out of the RCA, the BMA argued FourteenFish Consult is still a useful, cost-effective and GDPR-compliant tool for trainees to record consultations.
The union’s GP registrars committee criticised the college’s ‘unilateral’ move, requesting assurances that an equivalent tool would be made available for registrars.
In a series of posts on X, the committee said: ‘Our message is clear: GP registrars must not be left paying substantial fees for a portfolio system that no longer meets their training needs.
‘In our letter to the RCGP, we have: 1. Emphasised the practical consequences of losing the Consult tool; 2. Called for an integrated, secure consultation recording function to remain available at no extra cost to registrars; 3. Requested clarity and transparency on the guidance being developed; 4. Asked for a commitment to preventing similar unilateral changes in future.’
A BMA spokesperson said they were unable to provide Pulse with a copy of the letter.
The FourteenFish platform, of which the Consult tool was one part, was acquired by IT systems provider EMIS (now Optum) in 2022, is used by 13,000 GP trainees in the UK, according to its website.
Dr Selvaseelan Selvarajah, a GP and medical educator in east London, told Pulse: ‘There is an opportunity to look at other GDPR compliant tools or formalise joint trainer/trainee clinics where there is an opportunity to provide real time feedback on the consultation as part of workplace based assessment, continuing professional development and preparation for SCA exam.
‘I don’t think withdrawal will have widespread or significant impact on GP training, but there is a need for college and GP schools to recommend alternative tools for recording consultations and develop guidelines around this so that trainees who want to record their consults are able to do so to help enhance their training.’
A spokesperson for FourteenFish told Pulse: ‘We’ve taken the decision to sunset our Consult tool which was launched to provide a remote alternative for GP Registrars preparing for their assessments during the pandemic.
‘We thank users for their support of the tool and apologise for any inconvenience that its removal may cause.’
