We introduced doctor triage for same day requests a few months ago; it
works well in conjunction with a stages approach to appointment release
and Patient Partner telephone booking.
I was reluctant, but am amazed how much I can safely do on the phone.
John
John Canning
Should this email be received in error please permanently delete and let
me know by clicking "reply".
-----Original Message-----
From: GP-UK [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Emile de Sousa
Sent: 03 July 2008 19:00
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: GP Triage
We use GP triage as well as booked appointments. The duty doc triages
all
requests for which there is nothing in 48hr and for which the patient is
unwilling to wait more than 48hr. Generally we ring back inside 30 min (
more on a winter Monday, less on a summer Friday ( my personal record is
17
seconds after the patient had put the phone down ( as assessed by Front
Desk's audit trail). The duty doc has booked slots to offer that are
unavailable to the receptionists.
The patients seem to really like it as the majority of phone
consultations
resolve the problem. The really striking thing as that the number of
people
who NEED to be seen is pretty constant at about 12-15 per day regardless
of
whether you have 30 or 100 calls that day.
-----Original Message-----
From: GP-UK [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ewan Davis
Sent: 03 July 2008 12:45
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: GP Triage
Hi
Cross-posted to PHCSG Discuss and GP-UK
My GP Practice (i.e where I am a patient) has just changed their
appointment
system so that I will now have top wait for a call-back from a GP before
I
can book an appointment. This also means that I will no longer be able
to
use EMIS Access to book an appointment (although I will be able to book
a
call back via EMIS Access - Whoopee !)
The practice have promised quite tight service levels on the call-back
but I
can see that this will happen when I'm on another call or otherwise not
available (sounds a bit like the helpdesk I used to run at AAH Meditel!)
In
particular, when making an appointment for a routine follow-up at the
GP's
request going through GP triage would seem to be a waste of my time and
Thiers's
I think I am a good patient who can differentiate between my need to
have a
telephone consultation or a face-to-face consultation, am happy to see
the
PN or an HCA when this is appropriate and in any case seek to keep my
interactions with the healthcare system at an absolute minimum. I guess
the
same is probably true of most other patients (although I am sure this
will
not be GPs perception as it will be the timewasters that get noticed -
Just
like the view from the IT helpdesk that all GPs are unreasonable and IT
illiterate)
My expectation is that this is not going to work for patients or the
practice, but before I share my thought with my GP I welcome views from
others, particularly anyone who has tried this approach.
Ewan Davis - Director - Woodcote Consulting
See our website at www.woodcote-consulting.com
[log in to unmask] Voice +44(0)1527 875340 DDI +44(0)1527
875341
Fax +44(0)1527 871196 Mobile +44(0) 7774 272724
Member of British Computer Society Primary Health Care Specialist Group
Visit... http://www.phcsg.org for membership details
