New GP's surgery online - for one week only

For my 100th post to this blog, I'm writing with some very good news. Well, some good news tempered with a little reality.

An online GPs surgery has opened. Rather than go to the GP, you can log on and talk to a GP in real-time. We know that a) men are reluctant to go to the GP and b) they like to use the internet, so this is a service I've been wanting to announce ever since I became editor of malehealth.

So what's the dose of reality? Well, it will only last for a week and it's being provided by a drug company, Pfizer, rather than the Men's Health Forum. Like the National Obesity Forum and Sexual Dysfunction Association, the MHF is backing the idea. The surgery is staffed by independent GPs, contains links to malehealth and MHF mini-manuals and provides an out of hours service (6pm-11pm) which no GP can match.

In an ideal world, men would go to their GP at the first sign of trouble and, if a site like this were needed, it would be provided by an independent organisation like the MHF. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that world. Coming on the heel of the online consultations provided by European Men's Health Forum on erection problems, premature ejaculation and prostate problems, this new online surgery enhances still further the options available to men with health concerns and that has to be a good thing.