More people in England now see their GP online than by telephone, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Data for the three weeks from mid-September shows just over 43% of people went online to contact their GP, up a percentage point on the previous month, compared with 41% by phone.
It comes after the Government required all NHS practices to offer online booking capabilities from October. The government says more than eight million people used online counseling services in October, up by a fifth on the previous month.
The British Medical Association has suggested the move could lead to surgeries being overwhelmed by demand and says patients could be put at risk.
It is in a formal dispute with the government over the changes.
But Health Secretary Wes Streeting hailed the latest figures as a “huge step” towards delivering on the Government's pledge to end the “scramble over 8am appointments”.
ONS data showed that 43.3% of people contacted their GP online, including through the NHS app or local GP website, between 16 September and 9 October.
The government has mandated that online appointments must be booked between 08:30 and 18:00, Monday to Friday.
The Department of Health says almost all GPs in England now offer the service. In addition to requesting non-urgent consultations, patients can ask questions, describe symptoms and request a call back.
NHS England said it had become easier for patients to contact GPs online and that figures showed the service's popularity.
But the BMA says patients are being put at risk because urgent requests are not being dealt with and practices are being overwhelmed.
“The government has simply increased the likelihood of patient safety issues occurring,” said Dr David Wrigley, deputy chairman of the BMA's General Practice Committee in England.
“The software simply doesn’t filter routine requests from urgent requests,” he added.
Patient group Healthwatch England also raised concerns, saying some people had not been properly informed of the changes, particularly that online booking should not be used in emergencies.
They also reported the practice of limiting online bookings until the morning and stated that people with less digital literacy found it difficult to navigate the system.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Streeting said it was “time for the NHS to catch up with the rest of the 21st century”.
“GPs have really embraced it. Listening to some of the moaning minnies at the BMA, you'd think GPs would be fighting back, but they're not.
“In fact, the vast majority did, and I am grateful to them,” he said.
Regarding the challenges associated with assessing the increased volume of messages transmitted through online systems, he suggested that the recognition of bottlenecks in the telephone system indicated a view that “if patients are out of sight, they are out of sight.”
Jess Harvey, a GP in Shropshire and member of the BMA, told BBC Radio 4's Today program that surgeries are already “overstretched and running at full capacity”.
She said GPs want to be responsive to patients but there is now an “open floodgate for people to contact us” and “there is also the reality here that we have to work safely”.
She accused the government of “creating unrealistic expectations for patients”, adding: “If they want us to do this extra work, it needs to be funded so it can be done safely.”
