Obviously the cost to GP's or pharmacists isn't the equivalent of £1.50
per week - if they were to set up the reminders - There is a huge cost
penalty in collecting revenue by reverse charge SMS, which is why the
"retail" cost is what it is.
People off the street can and do pay for the service at that price level
for a variety of reasons. The reaction we have had to the service
overall has been (as evidenced by what I have seen here) extreme at both
ends - Some people can't see the point (or at least can't see why they
or anyone would pay for it), and others have been extremely enthusiastic.
In an ideal world, the funding would come from elsewhere, but that is
not always the case - At present - Hopefully someone with a well of
money will see why sending reminders to people will increase compliance,
and lower overal costs to the health service
What is clear, however, is that there is a vast cost in people not
complying with medication, or not turning up for appointments
The cost to one surgery we recently talked to send a text or voice
reminder for every appointment that was booked was £3,400 per year - To
actually make sure that (more) people turn up, that is a pretty small
sum (although I would not expect everyone to agree), as is a lot cheaper
than sending appointment reminders by post
To address the commission point, the system is set up that a commission
can be paid on any referral.
Many thanks
Nigel
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Jeff Green wrote:
> Nigel
>
> I have concerns about your business plan - expecting GP's or pharmacists to actually pay for something like this is IMO
> wishful thinking.
>
> However for a commission, I believe that pharmacies might be prepared to refer patients to your service.
>
> I can't speak for GP's.
>
> Regards
>
> Jeff
>
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