Redmoor Health’s Digital Programme Manager, Clare Temple, gives us her top five tips for using your GP and NHS online services to enhance your patient’s experience.
- Make as many processes as possible available for patients to complete online: this can be to book, view, amend, cancel, and print appointments online plus order repeat prescriptions. Free up phone lines for patients who still wish to contact the practice using the telephone.
- Offer as many routine appointments – that are bookable online – as you feel safe to do so: This can result in fewer phone calls and face-to-face transactions with patients which releases time for reception and administration staff to be deployed on other tasks. Free up phone lines for patients who still wish to contact the practice using the telephone. Easier for patients to cancel or re-book appointments, resulting in reduced “did not attends” (DNAs)
- Make sure all your staff are familiar with all the online services available to patients: take time to familiarise all staff within the practice with your online appointment and repeat prescription ordering protocols and associated user guides that have been provided by GP system suppliers. Work with the team to develop an online appointment and repeat prescription ordering protocol.
- Encourage patients to order repeat prescriptions online: receiving repeat prescription requests online rather than via the telephone may be easier for staff because it avoids opportunities for error when taking down information over the phone. Improved audit trails. Fewer phone calls and face-to-face transactions with patients which releases time for reception and administration staff to be deployed on other tasks.
- Promote the services to your patients: we have found that the practices which promote online appointment booking and repeat prescription ordering to their patients, using a range of promotional tools, have had a very positive response, particularly from patients with long term conditions who are in frequent contact with the practice. Promotion of online services to your patients is a contractual requirement. A range of tools are available to help you do this and our teams at Redmoor Health can also support.
Blog by Clare Temple
Clare has been the lead administrator in a rural GP Practice for six years until joining the Redmoor team, where she has focused on implementing new digital solutions and techniques. These include Online Consultations, GP Online Services and website administration, where Clare has focused on making patient communications and flows more efficient. Clare has helped practices to develop things such as their appointment books, summary records, and optimise their clinical system, and is now using this knowledge to develop the Digital Journey Planner with Redmoor Health – which is all about supporting practices on their digital journeys. Clare understands the pressures that GPs are under at the moment and advocates the value that digital solutions can provide in easing some of this pressure.
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