Helping the NHS to reduce the spread of coronavirus

April 1, 2020

In the face of an epidemic, the NHS is working hard to prevent the spread of coronavirus but concerns remain about the ability of the health service to cope with the virus.

Measures taken in response to COVID-19 include raising public awareness around the importance of hand washing, reducing misinformation about the virus and increasing the number of coronavirus testing.

The impact on primary care could be significant according to Richard Vautrey of the British Medical Association. He has warned that GP routine check-ups may need halted, prioritising more urgent cases of care. The result, he concedes, is that ‘some patients may have to wait longer than normal to see their GP’.

Updating algorithms to detect COVID-19

Well before the coronavirus outbreak started, patients in the UK were struggling to get hold of the GP. To address this challenge and support better patient flow across practices we introduced our Klinik Access solution, a new cutting-edge AI-based online triage technology, to the NHS.

In mid-February, following widespread concerns the virus could spread internationally, we updated its Klinik Access algorithm in just 24 hours, to detect symptoms of coronavirus and signpost patients to the official NHS guidance.

The 24/7 online symptom checking and urgency assessment service can now identify COVID-19 in the UK, meaning GPs can provide appropriate care for patients with coronavirus symptoms, whilst keeping health professionals safe.

This update is live in GP providers across the north of England. Haxby Group were the first to adopt our Klinik Access tech which is being rolled out to up to 60,000 patients across Hull and York.

Acting quickly to protect patients and GP providers

Ben Wood, Director of Operations & Sales for Klinik Healthcare Solutions UK, said: “In these worrying times, where patient access is essential but physical contact could put the healthcare professional at risk, we have acted quickly to help the NHS tackle the spread of coronavirus.

“By updating the algorithm for our online triage service, we have increased patient access to healthcare professionals, while keeping everyone as safe as possible. It is clear that digital solutions will play an important part in containing the outbreak.” added Wood.

Support for CCGs

Furthermore, we are offering the Klinik Access solution as a quick and easy to deploy portal for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to monitor and manage patients’ coronavirus online or phone enquiries.

Developed to increase patient access and protect the wellbeing of healthcare professionals at this challenging time, our Whole System Triage Service can direct appropriate patients to video consultations to avoid the spread of the virus.

All inbound enquiry information, such as demographic, location, symptom and condition data is collected and visible in easy to use dashboards that can be configured to report at CCG, primary care networks (PCN) and practice levels to help monitor the outbreak at local levels.

Be safe

Our message to all our people and partners is to be as safe as possible by following official NHS advice on COVID-19 from Public Health England. We will do our bit to help the NHS contain the outbreak.


 

Klinik Access is an online consultation & patient flow management software that directs patients to the optimal resource in primary care. The system’s unique algorithm interprets the person’s symptoms to make a provisional assessment, and estimates the urgency of the care needed. Based on this, the person is automatically referred to the right place for care to begin.



"Even our most ardent doubters have seen that demand can be successfully managed with online triage."
Martin Eades, Managing Partner
Priory Medical Group
"We understand our patients like never before. We now have data on the true demand we face in general practice. We have the tools to share that workload across the whole primary care network."
Martin Eades, Managing Partner
Priory Medical Group
"We are seeing 8,000 more patients compared to the same time last year thanks to Klinik, and doing so with the same level of resources."
Martin Eades, Managing Partner
Priory Medical Group
“The system enables our clinicians to review the information provided by patients, and provides a suggested priority level. This allows us to ensure we have the patient see the right person at the right time.”
Dr. Azhar Ali, Managing Partner
Forth Medical Group
"Together with Klinik, we have invested the energy to make it the way we want it to be, and now we are seeing the results.”
Dr Sarmad Zaidi
Roxbourne Medical Centre
“Now Klinik is in place, we don’t ever want to go back. Our reception staff feel less pressured to act according to patient expectations, and the whole team feels that they are better placed to deal with all incoming queries. We can breathe now.”
Trupti Chauhan, Operations Manager
Roxbourne Medical Centre
"Now we know what the demand is, we can see what changes need to be made, and we can manage expectation and optimise the journey for every patient. We can assign the right level of resources to deal with the enquiry, and use the most expensive resource where it’s most effective."
Trupti Chauhan, Operations Manager
Roxbourne Medical Centre
“Feedback from other practices using the system was very positive, especially how responsive the company was to people’s needs.”
Dr Michael Curran, GP partner
Church Street Medical Centre
“For any other practice I would say this would make a valuable addition to the practice. In the current environment, it is becoming essential to have an efficient triage service that can assess risk and identify urgency, so that care can be given according to need, rather than demand. I would strongly recommend this to any GP practice.”
Dr Michael Curran, GP partner
Church Street Medical Centre
"With the Klinik online consultation service, we can now get the correct patient to the correct point of care in the most efficient way."
Dr Thomas Patel-Campbell
Haxby Group