Portsmouth signs deal for Patientxt
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust has signed a deal with software supplier Healthcare Communications for its Patientxt messaging service in order to reduce its Did Not Attend rates.
News
Digital Healthcare texts reduce DNAs
Digital Healthcare, a supplier of software to UK Diabetic Retinal Screening Services, has developed a module that uses text messages to help reduce the number of patients who miss appointments. The SMS text reminder module uses NHSmail to send a free automated reminder at a preconfigured time before the patient’s appointment. The administrator can customise […]
News
NHS staff admit to being DNAs
A survey of health professionals attending an NHS Alliance event found that three out of ten have missed a medical appointment. The survey of 100 people by In4Health, which delivers news and information services to screens in NHS waiting rooms, found that five admitted missing "a shocking" five appointments. The NHS Information Centre estimates that did not attends […]
News
James Cook says C+B led to DNA rise
Another hospital department has reported an increase in its did-not-attend (DNA) rate for patients whose appointments were made through Choose and Book. Orthopaedic surgeons from James Cook University Hospital in Middlesborough say that they have logged a 39% increase in non-attendance rates since their department started to use Choose and Book in 2006. The doctors, […]
News
Choose and Book increases DNAs
Attendance in outpatient clinics is worse for patients referred via Choose and Book than for those given an appointment after a traditional GP referral, according to a new study. Hospital doctors at University Hospital Lewisham compared 700 patients who had been referred via the electronic booking system with the same number of patients referred on […]
News
NHS Grampian extends telephone reminder service
A telephone patient reminder system is being rolled out across several NHS Grampian out-patient clinics in Aberdeen, after a successful pilot. The Chronos system, from Scots firm 360CRM, has made a significant impact during a three month pilot in the Woodend Orthopaedic out-patient clinics, with DNAs (did not attend) falling by 37%. Patients receive an […]
News
Training Day DNAs
While the NHS strives hard to cut its DNA – ‘did not attend’ – rates for patients attending hospital and GP appointments, a hidden DNA rate remains worryingly high among the staff themselves, Niall Shanahan explains.
Feature
Choose and Book gets upgraded
Atos Origin has announced that it has implemented the latest in a series of upgrades to the national NHS electronic booking systems known as Choose and Book system, being provided under the Connecting for Health programme. The upgrade announcement came in the same week that CfH said that over 3m appointments have been made through […]
News
SMS appointment reminders get language boost
A GP practice in south London which is using text messaging to send out appointment reminders to its patients will soon start sending out SMSs in separate languages. The Patient Care Messaging system, supplied by iPlato and running from the practice’s EMIS database, has been used to send out flu jab prompts to patients at risk as […]
News
Ealing and Southend-on-Sea start patient txt messaging
Mobile messaging firm iPlato has announced that practices from two more primary care trusts in England have started using its Patient Care Messaging system. Integrated into the underlying practice patient administration and clinical system, iPLATO’s Patient Care Messaging service enables easy text messaging with patients around appointments and specialised clinics, helping tackle did not attend […]
News