All surgeries that use EMIS can now improve patient access by using an automated telephone appointment booking system which enables patients to book appointments around the clock. Known as Patient Partner, the automated system is now fully accredited to work on all EMIS platforms.

Telecoms specialists Voice Connect (www.voiceconnect.co.uk) created Patient Partner for GPs almost 10 years ago, and it is now used by over 2.5 million patients across the UK. The automated system allows patients to contact their surgery at any time of the night or day to book, cancel and change their appointments.

With over 50% of GPs in the UK now using an EMIS clinical database, the integration is good news for both surgeries and patients. The new integration status means that Patient Partner now fully amalgamates with all EMIS variations including   LV, PCS LAN PCS WAN, PCS (in Scotland) and Web.

Official estimates put the cost of missed patient appointments to the NHS at around £600 million a year.  Patient Partner was originally developed to help combat this issue, and the news that approval has been given for it to be used by so many surgeries is highly likely to have a positive effect on reducing DNAs across the UK.

Stefan Olsberg, MD of Voice Connect comments “Using Patient Partner has proved to be a very positive experience for many GPs.  Not only has it cut DNA rates and saved practices money, it has also given patients greatly improved access to the services they provide.  Now that we are able to integrate fully with so many additional practices, it should mean that we are able to improve the service that thousands of GPs can offer their patients.”

EMIS is the leading primary care software provider, holding 39 million patient records. The company works with carefully selected partners only after a series of rigorous tests have been passed. Voice Connect were established in 1991 and have worked closely with PCTs and GPs’ surgeries across the UK for over 20 years. They provide a range of unified communication services for doctors’ surgeries as well as local authorities and private organisations.

The Pagoda Surgery in Richmond has introduced a new booking system which enables patients to call the practice at any time to book or cancel appointments. The system, known as Patient Partner, went live at the surgery in September. It has been specially designed to ease the problems that patients can face when trying to contact their GP, offering increased choice in how and when appointments are made.

The surgery, which is situated on Pagoda Avenue, has 7,200 patients on its register. It has already introduced an online system for ordering repeat prescriptions at www.pagodasurgery.co.uk. The new phone service is the latest initiative designed to improve access for patients and enhance the overall patient experience. “Patient Partner will help ease call congestion by giving patients more choice in when they can call,” explains Deborah Taylor, Practice Manager at The Pagoda Surgery. “This frees up phone lines at traditionally busier times of day for important queries and emergencies.”

The automated system works by detecting spaces in the doctors’ diaries, allowing the patient to choose the appointment time which best suits them by pressing a button on their touch tone phone.

“We realise that some patients may prefer to book appointments in the traditional way and they may continue to do so if they wish,” comments Deborah. “However, by providing this round the clock service, we can offer greater flexibility for all our patients, including those who work unsociable hours. We also believe that it will free up valuable time for our receptionists to attend to patient care.”

A survey carried out by the DPP (Developing Patient Partnerships) and the Institute of Healthcare revealed that almost a quarter of a million patients across the country fail to attend appointments each week. “Patient Partner was developed to help with this issue,” explains Stefan Olsberg, Managing Director of Voice Connect. “By making it easier to contact the surgery, we hope that the new system will help to diminish the number of wasted appointments which has to be good news for patients.”

Ware residents are now able to book appointments ‘around the clock’ at local surgery

Church Street Surgery in Ware has introduced a new phone system which enables patients to call the practice at any time to book or cancel appointments. The system, known as Patient Partner, went live at the surgery in June. It has been specially designed to ease the problems that patients can face when trying to contact their GP, offering increased choice in how and when appointments are made.

The surgery has 8,600 patients on its register. It has already introduced an online system for booking appointments and ordering repeat prescriptions at www.churchstware.org. The new phone service is the latest initiative designed to improve access for patients and enhance the overall patient experience. “Patient Partner will help ease call congestion by giving patients more choice in when they can call,” explains Val Terry, Business Manager at Church Street. “This frees up phone lines at traditionally busier times of day for important queries and emergencies.”

The automated system works by detecting spaces in the doctors’ diaries, allowing the patient to choose the appointment time which best suits them by pressing a button on their touch tone phone. The system also integrates fully with the online booking and repeat prescription service.

“We realise that some patients may prefer to book appointments in the traditional way and they may continue to do so if they wish,” comments Val. “However, by providing this round the clock service, we can offer greater flexibility for all our patients, including those who work unsociable hours. We also believe that it will free up valuable time for our receptionists to attend to patient care.”

A survey carried out by the DPP (Developing Patient Partnerships) and the Institute of Healthcare revealed that almost a quarter of a million patients across the country fail to attend appointments each week. “Patient Partner was developed to help with this issue,” explains Stefan Olsberg, Managing Director of Voice Connect. “By making it easier to contact the surgery, we hope that the new system will help to diminish the number of wasted appointments which has to be good news for patients.”

Jockey Road find their experience of Patient Partner ‘a positive one’

Jockey Road Medical Centre is situated near to Sutton Coldfield in a residential area comprised of a mainly middle class populace with small pockets of deprivation. Part of the Midlands Medical Partnership (www.mmpmedical.com), which administers services for around 50,000 patients across 8 surgeries in the Birmingham area, Jockey Road currently has 8,260 residents on its patient list. The centre staff include 5 doctors, 3 nurses and 13 staff in a range of administrative, reception and support roles.

Call congestion, particularly at the peak times when a surgery first opens, is an issue for many GP practices of all sizes and locations. The staff at Jockey Road were aware of this problem at their own surgery and were keen to find ways of improving patient communication with the practice, as well as enhancing patient access and easing the pressure on their busy reception desk. They decided that an automated phone appointment booking system could be the answer, and installed Patient Partner in 2009. The practice was also the first surgery in the UK to use Patient Partner with the Vision Enterprise System through the central server.

However, change isn’t always well received by patients, so the staff at Jockey Road had some apprehension prior to installing the system. “We were a little concerned about how our patients would respond to using an automated system for the first time,” comments Sonia Cox, Practice Manager at Jockey Road Medical Centre. “Whilst it’s true that initially some patients expressed a preference for speaking to a receptionist, the system actually bedded in quickly and within a couple of months we received lots of positive feedback from patients of all ages who found the system easier to use than expected.”

Sonia and the reception staff are pleased with the way that the Patient Partner system is working at the surgery and feel that it has helped to improve communication for both staff and patients. “Patient Partner has more than lived up to our expectations and has helped us to improve patient access as we had hoped,” she comments. “The system has helped to reduce call congestion at peak times and has also enabled us to handle a high volume of calls more efficiently. This has the added bonus of making it easier for patients with urgent problems to get through to reception quickly.”

Patient Partner’s top three features

1. The system is easy to use for old and young alike.

2. Patients can bypass the appointment section if they need to speak to a person.

3. You really notice the difference when you don’t have it!

“The system has become such an integral part of the surgery and our day to day routine that we don’t really think about it,” adds Sonia. “However, we really appreciated its value and noticed the difference that it makes to the life of the practice when we had some down time during a recent data merge.”

Sonia also rates the service from Voice Connect very highly. “The support from Voice Connect as a company has been extremely good throughout the whole process. We have always found the staff extremely helpful and any actions requested have been dealt with quickly. All in all we are very happy with the system and how it works within our practice.”

Furthermore, Sonia would be happy to recommend Patient Partner to other surgeries looking to improve their patient access and communication. She would also urge surgery staff not to be deterred by the possibility of an initial negative reaction from patients to the prospect of an automated system.  “People rarely embrace change and although there were some concerns raised by patients at first, the system was used regularly very quickly. In addition, the feedback from the patients was very positive from the outset, reporting that they found the system easy to use. Certainly, our own experience of using Patient Partner has been a very positive one.”

Trinity Medical Centre saves money using Patient Partner

Trinity Medical Centre is a small, semi rural practice located in the Staffordshire village of Blythe Bridge, a few miles south east of Stoke on Trent and close to the major traffic routes of the A50 and M6. The centre employs two GPs, two practice nurses and eight additional staff who work in a range of clinical and administrative roles. There are 4,200 patients registered at the surgery, drawn from a predominantly white middle class demographic.

Like many GP practices across the UK, Trinity Medical Centre experienced a high volume of phone call traffic at certain times of the day, particularly when the surgery first opened in the morning. In an effort to reduce call congestion and improve overall access for patients, senior management at the centre decided to implement an automated appointments service, with Patient Partner first going live at the practice in September 2009.

Practice Manager Sue Bryan explains the reasons behind opting for the Patient Partner system. “We wanted to install an automated service because our telephones were always extremely busy first thing in the morning, every day of the week.  We thought that if our patients were able to book and cancel their own appointments whenever it suited them, it would remove some of pressure from the early morning staff. We also hoped it would make the telephones less busy, which would be less frustrating for patients.

“Having had a full demonstration from the sales team which clearly explained everything, we felt confident about going ahead,” comments Sue. Fortunately this confidence was not misplaced and the system has lived up to expectations. “Whilst we have had a few minor teething problems as we adapted the system for our particular requirements, it has enabled us to greatly improve our service. Not only that, but our staff now feel less pressured and are able to cope much better in the mornings.”

Most importantly, the reaction from patients has been very positive, with most expressing the opinion that Patient Partner is a good idea. “Patients find the system easy to use and have adapted well to it,” says Sue “They are now able to make their own appointments without going via reception, saving a lot of time and frustration.”

Patient Partner’s top three features:

1. It makes the telephones less busy.

2. Patients can pre book their appointments.

3. It handles out of hours calls and directs patients to the out of hours service.

Patient Partner has helped to improve several key areas of surgery life, including the main aim of reducing call congestion, particularly at the traditionally busy times. It has also achieved the objective of making life easier for the receptionists by reducing the number of calls that they need to answer, thereby releasing time to concentrate on other tasks. “Our patients also say that they find it easier to contact the surgery since the system has been installed,” comments Sue. “In fact, using Patient Partner has really enhanced our overall call handling capabilities.”

Sue has nothing but praise for the system and would be happy to recommend it to any other surgery looking to resolve their call handling issues. “I think the system is very good and can’t think of anything else which needs to be done to improve it. Whenever we have had any issues, they have been resolved quickly by the support team: they have offered us a good level of support and we have always been able to speak to someone when we have needed to.  Generally, Patient Partner has made the reception a much calmer place and receptionists have time to do other things.  Our patients are able to book appointments in advance and out of hours 24/7 so this frees up the telephones – and it has also saved us money by not having to install another telephone line. I would advise any surgery considering installing the system to go for it. Not only am I happy to recommend it to others- I have already done so!”

Patient Partner gives White Medical Group ‘the best of both worlds’

White Medical Group is located just outside the border of Newcastle upon Tyne and consists of three sites: the main surgery is located in the village of Ponteland, with branch sites at Wylam and Stamfordham. The practice employs 6 doctors, 2 nurses and 19 admin staff for a patient list of just under 7,000 residents in total. With the three surgeries covering a large geographical area which includes both urban and rural communities, the patient demographic is varied.

The demands made on a modern GP practice are steadily increasing, and whilst the number of reception staff at White Medical Group had remained constant for some years, their workload was continually rising. The partners and practice manager decided that installing an automated phone appointment booking system could be one way of reducing this pressure, and so went live with their Patient Partner system in October 2009.

Although Patient Partner is installed at over 600 surgeries nationwide (with that number steadily rising), there were no surgeries in the area using Patient Partner at that time. This meant that the practice manager James Young was unable to see the system working in situ prior to installation.

“Although Voice Connect’s demonstration was very good, we weren’t certain that the reality would live up to it,” James explains. “We couldn’t go and see the system in action in a real surgery which made it hard to uncover any flaws, so it felt like a bit of a leap in the dark to have the system installed, particularly in relation to the integration with our clinical and phone systems.”

However, these concerns proved to be unfounded, and whilst it took a little adjustment to integrate the system with EMIS during installation, once installed everything has run efficiently. “Voice Connect ironed out the inevitable teething issues very quickly,” comments James. “Since going live we haven’t had any problems at all.  Everything has worked reliably – in fact, I have been very impressed with Voice Connect’s level of support.”

James also reports that the system has been well received by the majority of patients at the surgery and that uptake has steadily increased as patients become more familiar with Patient Partner. “Generally elderly patients can take a while to get used to the technology, but this has become easier with time,” he explains. “There was some initial concern that we would force people to use the service, but this was never going to be the case. The system is great and we find that once a patient has used it they never go back to the old system of ringing a receptionist. Some patients will always prefer speaking to a real person, so we have the best of both worlds by having both options. We plan to extend our marketing efforts with help from Voice Connect in order to continue increasing patient usage still further.”

Patient Partner’s best three features are:

1. The integration between the phone system and the clinical system.
2. The stability of the IT platform.
3. The ability to book appointments at any time which has also reduced receptionist workload.

James reports that Patient Partner has had a positive impact on call handling and general communication at all the surgeries, reducing call congestion, particularly at peak call times. The system has freed up time for receptionists, whilst making it easier for patients to contact the surgery. “The system has enabled us to monitor how we handle calls and make further improvements by providing useful statistics which allow phone usage to be closely monitored,” he adds.

“Our experience of Patient Partner has generally been very positive and if a surgery similar to ours was considering installing the system, I‘d advise them to go for it as it’s definitely worthwhile if you want to take some of the existing workload pressure off reception staff. Prior to installation, it’s worth thinking about how you market the service and how you maximise patient usage. Whilst Patient Partner isn’t cheap, it does provide good value for money. In fact, overall it’s an excellent system that does exactly what it says on the tin.”

Patient Partner gives White Medical Group ‘the best of both worlds’

White Medical Group is located just outside the border of Newcastle upon Tyne and consists of three sites: the main surgery is located in the village of Ponteland, with branch sites at Wylam and Stamfordham. The practice employs 6 doctors, 2 nurses and 19 admin staff for a patient list of just under 7,000 residents in total. With the three surgeries covering a large geographical area which includes both urban and rural communities, the patient demographic is varied.

The demands made on a modern GP practice are steadily increasing, and whilst the number of reception staff at White Medical Group had remained constant for some years, their workload was continually rising. The partners and practice manager decided that installing an automated phone appointment booking system could be one way of reducing this pressure, and so went live with their Patient Partner system in October 2009.

Although Patient Partner is installed at over 600 surgeries nationwide (with that number steadily rising), there were no surgeries in the area using Patient Partner at that time. This meant that the practice manager James Young was unable to see the system working in situ prior to installation.

“Although Voice Connect’s demonstration was very good, we weren’t certain that the reality would live up to it,” James explains. “We couldn’t go and see the system in action in a real surgery which made it hard to uncover any flaws, so it felt like a bit of a leap in the dark to have the system installed, particularly in relation to the integration with our clinical and phone systems.”

However, these concerns proved to be unfounded, and whilst it took a little adjustment to integrate the system with EMIS during installation, once installed everything has run efficiently. “Voice Connect ironed out the inevitable teething issues very quickly,” comments James. “Since going live we haven’t had any problems at all.  Everything has worked reliably – in fact, I have been very impressed with Voice Connect’s level of support.”

James also reports that the system has been well received by the majority of patients at the surgery and that uptake has steadily increased as patients become more familiar with Patient Partner. “Generally elderly patients can take a while to get used to the technology, but this has become easier with time,” he explains. “There was some initial concern that we would force people to use the service, but this was never going to be the case. The system is great and we find that once a patient has used it they never go back to the old system of ringing a receptionist. Some patients will always prefer speaking to a real person, so we have the best of both worlds by having both options. We plan to extend our marketing efforts with help from Voice Connect in order to continue increasing patient usage still further.”

Patient Partner’s best three features are:

1. The integration between the phone system and the clinical system.
2. The stability of the IT platform.
3. The ability to book appointments at any time which has also reduced receptionist workload.

James reports that Patient Partner has had a positive impact on call handling and general communication at all the surgeries, reducing call congestion, particularly at peak call times. The system has freed up time for receptionists, whilst making it easier for patients to contact the surgery. “The system has enabled us to monitor how we handle calls and make further improvements by providing useful statistics which allow phone usage to be closely monitored,” he adds.

“Our experience of Patient Partner has generally been very positive and if a surgery similar to ours was considering installing the system, I‘d advise them to go for it as it’s definitely worthwhile if you want to take some of the existing workload pressure off reception staff. Prior to installation, it’s worth thinking about how you market the service and how you maximise patient usage. Whilst Patient Partner isn’t cheap, it does provide good value for money. In fact, overall it’s an excellent system that does exactly what it says on the tin.”

71% of practice managers think that budgets will be tighter in the coming 12 months – yet 40% say they are likely to invest in technologies that will save the practice time, labour and money.

With the current wave of changes in all areas of the NHS, what can practice managers do to improve service whilst reducing costs? Many would see the new age of austerity as a reason for cutting back spending on technology. Few would mourn the wasted millions that have been spent on expensive, ineffective IT products within the public sector.  However, there are many other products which are starting to come into their own as they demonstrate real cost savings and patient enhancement for GP surgeries across Britain.

Whilst some new technology has promised almost unlimited benefits and delivered tiny rewards, there are certain technologies which have been quietly saving money, improving service and generally making life easier for practices and their patients. Probably the best example of this is Patient Partner, which has been tackling several very real problems for GPs. Patient Partner, and other related products from Leicestershire based company Voice Connect, have been making a real impression on surgeries, with over 500 customers across the UK. In Voice Connect’s recent survey, 100% of customers reported that Patient Partner has given patients a greater choice, and as a result patient attitude to attendance has improved.

Patient Partner works by integrating with a surgery’s clinical database. It interfaces with the telephone system and appointments manager system, enabling patients to book, check, change or cancel appointments themselves using their telephone keypad at any time of the day or night – whether or not a receptionist is there to answer the call. For example, a patient could call up at four o’clock in the morning to book an appointment for later that day when the doctor or nurse has been made available for appointments. By entering their phone number and date of birth, the system identifies the patient and is able to offer appointments that the practice has made available to the system. The patient is not only able to make an appointment at the time that suits them best, they also avoid the irritation of the engaged tone or holding for extended periods of time whilst a busy and stressed receptionist attempts to process the request.

Commuters in particular report the frustration of being unable to find out the availability of appointments before they have to set off for work. Patient Partner empowers the patient to book an appointment the night before. In this scenario, the system not only helps the patient to avoid these frustrations but also has the effect of reducing calls to the practice in the morning, and potentially taking pressure off the extended hours appointments.

An added benefit for GPs is that using Patient Partner can result in a drop in DNA rates because patients are able to cancel appointments that they no longer require. Not only does this reduce wasted appointments, it also frees up additional spaces that other patients can book with their GP, thus easing waiting times at the surgery.

Surgeries that have installed Patient Partner report up to 80% of available appointments are booked through the system. Each time a patient does this, the receptionist’s time can be spent either dealing with other patients who need more assistance or carrying out other duties within the practice. As a result, patients obtain a better service and frequently report higher levels of satisfaction with their GP.

Voice Connect’s recent survey also reveals that 93% of customers, who have had the system for 12 months, have experienced a reduction in calls to reception. It is always difficult to see how short the payback time for a system such as this is, but most practices report that within a few months of patients getting used to the system they couldn’t do without it.

Another example of how Voice Connect can help GPs both save money and improve efficiency is through the use of the new service they offer known as VC Smart Mail, which allows surgeries to send out letters without having to physically print, stamp and post them themselves. A surgery can send out letters to selected groups of patients or send a single letter via their PC, and choose when the letters need to be sent out. The letters are printed, enveloped and posted off-site. This not only frees up the administration staff of the surgery to do other tasks, it works out as a saving of up to 40% per letter for the surgery. With surgeries sending out up to tens of thousands of letters over the course of a year, this saving can add up to significant sums in addition to releasing administrative staff time to do other possibly more important tasks.

Whilst of course it is great to save money, patient care has to remain a surgery’s primary concern. Fortunately, both solutions mean that the patient is experiencing a superior service, and in the case of Patient Partner, is offered more choice. So, the combination of both saving money and improving patient service is possible when the right type of technology is used.

Bermondsey and Lansdowne Medical Mission has been using Voice Connect’s automated Patient Partner system since March 2005. The system was originally introduced as a way of reducing the call congestion that was particularly common at peak times, and as a way of offering patients increased flexibility in booking appointments. Whilst the surgery currently has four telephone lines available for call queuing, it can still be difficult to handle a large influx of calls when the surgery opens at 8.30am, a time when people often call to make emergency or routine appointments.

The Bermondsey and Lansdowne Medical Mission is a relatively large GP surgery in Bermondsey, located between the Elephant and Castle and Tower Bridge just south of the Thames. As is usual in many urban areas, the practice’s patient demographic is multicultural with patients from a range of ethic backgrounds and social class. The local residents live in a mix of private and social housing.

The medical centre, which has over 13,000 patients registered on its list, is one of two surgeries which make up the central London practice. There are currently 4 partners plus 12 additional GPs working part time at the surgery, with another 22 staff employed in a range of clinical and administrative roles. The practice runs a range of clinics, including antenatal care and family planning, as well as offering services to advise on health issues such as hypertension, diabetes and nutrition.

“We felt that, by giving our patients more choice in when they could call to make appointments, we would be able to reduce call congestion at peak times,” comments Sonia McVinnie, Assistant Practice Manager at Bermondsey and Lansdowne. “We did have some concerns prior to installation about how we would collect telephone numbers so that our patients could have access to the system and also how we would advertise the system.  However, the support from the Voice Connect helpdesk has always been good – they are on hand whenever they are needed.”

Whilst the surgery currently has four telephone lines available for call queuing, it can still be difficult to handle a large influx of calls when the surgery opens at 8.30am, a time when people often call to make emergency or routine appointments. So a system like Patient Partner, which allows people to make appointments if they feel unwell in the night rather than when they get up, or late in the evening rather than before leaving for work in the morning, means that call traffic at these times is reduced.

Assistant Practice Manager Sonia reports that Patient Partner has made a significant contribution to the day to day running of the practice by improving the whole call handling process, through reducing call congestion and freeing up receptionists’ time so they are able to deal with other administrative task to facilitate the smooth running of the practice. “Because patients are able to book or cancel their appointments at any time, they now find it easier to make an appointment and access has improved, which was one of our main aims in introducing the system.”

A survey by Pulse magazine shows that 63% of GPs think that waiting times are likely to rise following the change in government targets surrounding patient waiting times.  Patient Partner is designed to help reduce waiting times for GPs whilst reducing costs – so could prove to be an ideal way of tackling the problem for doctors.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/08/07/wait-times-rise-again-115875-22470661/