DrDoctor
DrDoctor is a booking and patient interaction software company based in London.
It was chosen as an innovation fellow by the NHS Innovation Accelerator in 2016.[1]
It is said to reduce the number of missed appointments and to make it easier and more convenient for patients to make and manage bookings. It is used by 30 NHS trusts in England including Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust which used it to automate the clinic booking, rescheduling and reminder system. It communicates with patients online, by text message, or by email and is integrated with the patient administration system.[2]
It entered a four-year contract with Aneurin Bevan Local Health Board in May 2017 to measure and track patient outcomes. It had already digitised communication with patients and appointment management across the trust's 10 sites in 2016.[3]
When used at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust it saved the trust £2.2 million. Patient satisfaction was said to be 96%.[4]
In October 2017 NHS England financed a trial in 10 more hospitals, costing £1.5 million,[5] varying from small specialist sites to large inner-city establishments, to test the impact of the technology. It is hoped that each hospital could save £2 million a year by reducing the number of missed appointments, of which there are about eight million a year,[6] and cutting down on postage costs.[7]
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust started using the text messaging service in ophthalmology, gastroenterology and respiratory services in 2019 and urged patients to ensure their contact details were up-to-date in order to make it effective.[8]
In April 2020 the company released a COVID-19 toolkit free of license fees to any hospital that required it. this included Broadcast Messaging and Video Consultation services and, a digital Symptom Assessment Tracker.[9]
The company raised £3 million from venture capital firms in September 2020 which will be used to expand its remote patient management and data solutions. It is currently partnered with 30 NHS Trusts and Health Boards across England and Wales.[10]
In June 2021 it was providing support to more than 30 NHS organisations for appointments management, patient engagement and virtual consultation. The company claimed that their approach could release additional capacity for 516,805 additional appointments per week.[11] Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust started using the digital-first pathway for its endoscopy diagnostic service in 2021. This allows allows them to send reminder messages, digital letters, and assessments to patients, reducing time and money spent on post and telephones. it reduces waiting lists and cancellations. Time taken for endoscopy operations has reduced on average from 26 minutes to just under 19 minutes.[12]
The company also offers support for the patient-initiated follow-up approach. NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance for December 2021 set a target for 1.5% of all outpatient attendances to be on a PIFU pathway, but few trusts reached the target. Tom Whicher, the chief executive, claimed that many trusts approach is not sufficiently integrated to achieve benefits in his session at Digital Health Rewired 2022.[13] Sir Jim Mackey has urged for PIFU to be expanded on an “industrial scale". Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of four PIFU pilot NHS trusts. The company press release claimed that “There is potential for 80 to 90 per cent of patients to be placed on a PIFU pathway once the clinician and the patient agree that it is the correct action to take. The most vulnerable patients will remain on a clinician-initiated follow-up pathway", but the 90% figure was not supported by the trust. Whicher said more clarity was needed as to what PIFU meant. Healthwatch England said scrapping needless follow-up appointments would be welcome, but had concerns about vulnerable groups.[14]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Technology, innovation and the changing face of health care". CNBC. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- ↑ "Healthwatch column: NHS trialling app to tackle missed appointments". Wokingham Paper. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- ↑ "Aneurin Bevan signs four-year deal with DrDoctor". Digital Health. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- ↑ "DrDoctor expands its service across three NHS trusts". Digital Health. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- ↑ "Infection-cutting surgical suture and catheter fixer to be fast-tracked for NHS use". Nursing Times. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- ↑ "As NHS turns 70, a bold vision for the future… Healthcare Revolution". Daily Express. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- ↑ "DrDoctor to be trialled across 11 more NHS hospitals". Digital Health. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- ↑ "Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals go live with DrDoctor". Digital Health. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ↑ "DrDoctor launches free covid-19 toolkit for NHS trusts". Health Service Journal. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ↑ "DrDoctor raises £3m to expand digital patient services platform". Mobihealth News. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ↑ "Digital first patient engagement "could clear NHS backlog in eight months"". Medtech news. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ↑ "CWH NHS Trust introduce digital pathway for endoscopy patients". National Health Executive. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ↑ "Why PIFU could be set to radically transform outpatient care". Digital Health. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ↑ "Recovery Watch: The great follow-ups revolution". Health Service Journal. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
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