Member Article

Healthcare providers trialling new technology for booking appointments

Two healthcare providers will trial new technology from Advanced Health & Care (Advanced) to enable out of hours (OOH) and NHS 111 staff to use the patient management system Adastra to make appointments directly into EMIS Web, the most widely used primary care clinical system in the UK.

Derbyshire Health United (DHU) and gtd healthcare will pilot the system from spring 2016. gtd healthcare is a not-for-profit provider of primary care, urgent care services and OOH dental services in the north west.

DHU is a NHS 111 provider covering 4 million patients across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, and an OOH provider covering 1 million patients in Derbyshire.

By piloting this new integration between Adastra and EMIS Web, staff will be able use Adastra to book GP and urgent care centre appointments for patients using the OOH and NHS 111 services directly into EMIS Web, which provides controlled access to patient records.

Currently, OOH staff at gtd healthcare are not able to make direct appointments for patients and instead send an electronic communication to the surgery/centre with the details, asking them to arrange a follow up appointment with the patient.

Jane Pugh, gtd healthcare’s Head of Business Services, believes this is an exciting opportunity to be involved in a pilot, which has huge potential to benefit the wide range of services the organisation provides.

Jane says, “gtd prides itself on being innovative and staying ahead of the game. This is demonstrated in our involvement with this pilot and reflects our commitment to continuously looking for ways to enhance the services we provide.

“Adopting new ways of working is key for us and we believe the integration of Adastra and EMIS Web will blur the boundaries between urgent and primary care and streamline patients’ care pathway.

“Furthermore, the system will create flexibility for our clinicians, allowing those who are visiting patients in their homes, working from our care coordination centre and remotely from our treatment centres to access patient records and book follow-up appointments.”

In the past year DHU has managed 1.1 million 111 calls using cloud-hosted Adastra 111. The organisation also provides OOH services for Derbyshire.

DHU will be piloting the new technology within its NHS 111 service where it will be used by 400 staff. Currently, if a GP appointment is needed patients are asked to call their local practice and book one themselves. Under the pilot, staff will be able to book directly into a GP practice or urgent care centre.

Pauline Hand, 111 Programme and Operations Director, Derbyshire Health United, says, “We have always been a frontrunner in the sector. We were the first NHS 111 and OOH integrated provider, and taking part in this pilot is a continuation of our commitment to innovation.

“Utilising more integrated technology will support enhanced patient care by providing a more satisfactory conclusion to a NHS 111 consultation. Booking appointments into health services ensures patients are directed to the most appropriate place of care to avoid them unnecessarily calling 999 or attending A&E.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Advanced .