This is the dawning of the age of smartphone GPs. A pilot scheme covering 3.5 million patients in London is offering a round-the-clock service that lets you check symptoms using a mobile app and then have a video consultation with a GP within two hours if needed. A group of GPs is providing its “GP at Hand” service to the NHS in partnership with tech company Babylon, which already offers smartphone GP consultations to private patients.

I’m a GP myself, but like any doctor I’m also occasionally a patient. So I thought I’d go online and see what it’s like from the user’s point of view.

You have to agree to switch from your current GP. A screen message comes up: “Hold on tight. We’re working hard on processing your application to the service. We will be with you shortly. Get the Babylon app while you wait.” A few minutes later, and I’m getting cold feet. I’ve just agreed to leave my trusted local doctor and I have no idea where I’ll be able to physically go if I need some non-mobile, face-to-face medical attention.

Ten minutes have passed and I’m still waiting to get past the smiley face and on to the system. If I was after a quick response, I could have dialled 111 for advice and be talking to a human by now. Or I could have phoned my (previous) GP surgery until 6.30pm and spoken to a receptionist who knows me and my family. After 6.30pm, the surgery switches through to a local out-of-hours service in my area. If they say I need to be seen, I’d get a visit or appointment at the local centre, which is nearby.

So I phone the number on the website and speak to a helpful woman. “Can you tell me where I will need to go if I physically need to see a GP – if I have severe tummy ache and need to be examined, or need a blood test or a smear test?” The nice woman says that a GP will always do a digital assessment first (by which she means via the smartphone rather than using a finger!) But she agrees that there are procedures like a smear test that even the cleverest smartphone can’t do.

And it turns out that even though the website asks for my postcode and says I’m eligible for the new scheme, the nearest surgery I could attend is near Victoria station, 10 miles from my suburban home. There will be other centres in future but none planned near me. There is no way of knowing which doctor or nurse I would see or where.

I can see the appeal for commuters because the centres will be located near transport hubs. But if you’re ill, you may not want to go into work and if you’ve got a local GP, you may not want to give up your registration quite yet.

GP at Hands says that its complex care team can arrange community-based services, including district nursing if needs be. But it acknowledges that, after discussion with a doctor, some patients may not find the service suitable for their needs. This might include people who can’t speak after a stroke, have severe dementia or don’t have access to a smartphone.

I hope I’m not being Luddite. As a GP, I have phone, email and face-to-face consultations and would welcome Skype ones too, as some GP practices are introducing. Commuters can already use walk-in centres near their workplace for urgent problems, but stay registered at their local practice. And the Babylon technology could presumably be useful for all healthcare providers in offering smartphone consultations when appropriate.

But before you sign up and ditch your local GP, check the small print. I lost my nerve and the woman I was speaking to let me cancel on the spot. I may be missing the chance of an encounter with a webcam GP, but I must admit, I’m a bit relieved.

• Ann Robinson is a GP