iPLATO Healthcare, a UK leader in cloud based mHealth and Analytics, has launched a new feature which allows patients to automatically cancel GP appointments via their mobile phone without intervention by reception staff at the practice. This new iPLATO feature - available for Enterprise and Pro users - will further reduce the practice workload related to appointment management and improve patient access to GP services.
Early users of automated cancellations are excited about the possibilities of this new feature. "Whilst eliminating effort for practice staff to deal with incoming cancellation requests from patients, this new feature has significantly sped up the process of making short term appointments available for other patients" says Lesley Kenny, Practice Manager and trial practice at The Hammersmith Surgery. "The reception team find it extremely efficient as freed up appointments can be given to someone else phoning in. I strongly urge all iPLATO users to trial 'automated cancellations' and not miss out!"
"Automated appointment cancellations is part of a broader feature set that aims to update the practice's GP System automatically based on incoming messages from patients" says Tobias Alpsten, CEO of iPLATO Healthcare. "The new iPLATO feature recognises 'Keywords' so, when a patient sends a Keyword such as 'CANCEL' as a reply to an appointment reminder, the appointment is automatically removed from the GP System and the practice reception are notified via e-mail. This new feature improves patient services and reduces the administrational burden for practices to manage appointments."
"Improved access to GP services reduces pressure on A&E" adds Alpsten. "In addition to improved access to GP services the Keyword feature will lead to long term outcomes such as reduced workload for reaching QoF targets and reduced pressure on switchboards.
Overall it's a win-win-win for our commissioners, practices and patients!"
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About iPLATO
iPLATO Healthcare is British innovation company. iPLATO’s evidence based mobile health solutions have proven to improve patient access to healthcare, to enable powerful health promotion targeted at people at risk and to support people with long term conditions.
Serving millions of patients and thousands of healthcare professionals every day iPLATO has emerged as the leader in mobile health. Across this network the company is running campaigns to promote smoking cessation, weight loss, childhood immunisation and pandemic awareness as well as mobile disease management services for people with diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy and HIV.
iPLATO Healthcare's mission is to, in partnership with clinicians, help healthcare commissioners transform patient care through cloud based mHealth and Analytics.