GP Surgeries in Camden use Text Messaging Services

Camden, London, 24 September 2009 - Patients of GP practices in Camden are benefitting from receiving appointment reminders and health information to their mobiles phones via text message. NHS Camden recently funded their surgeries to launch and operate the healthcare specific text messaging platform iPLATO Patient Care Messaging. The new patient service aims to reduce non-attendance to appointments as well as informing about important NHS services such as cancer screening and immunisation.

According to Imperial College researchers, non-attendance to appointments cost the NHS - and the tax payer - more than £790 million per year *. The iPLATO system has proven to reduce non-attendance in general practice by between 26% and 40%. In addition to reaping financial benefits through increased efficiency, NHS Camden hopes to establish an effective communication channel for health information.

With an estimated 82% of the UK adult population owning a mobile phone, participating surgeries will be able to reach a significant number of their patients through this scheme. Text messages are free to receive for the patient. If patients choose to respond, they will be charged standard operator rates depending on their individual contract. To achieve optimal uptake of and the subsequent benefits of this service, surgeries encourage their patients to hand in their mobile contact details for their records to be updated.

Peppy Begueria, Deputy Practice Manager of Prince of Wales Group Practice in NHS Camden said, “We are delighted with the text service.   It has definitely reduced our DNAs (did not attend) by a substantial amount.   Patients often comment on how helpful it is that they are reminded of their appointments by text.    We would definitely recommend this service.”

Kevin Hunter, Clinical Standards & Governance Manager at NHS Camden said, “Patient Care Messaging is the way forward in Camden. We have an ethnically and socially diverse population and many of them use mobile phones. I believe that text message reminders for patient’s appointments are the perfect first step towards building a ‘mobile relationship’. We aim to reduce missed appointments and look forward to using this service to support population wide health promotion initiatives”.

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Notes for Editors:

* Imperial College research article- Effectiveness of mobile-phone short message service (SMS) reminders for ophthalmology outpatient appointments: Observational study

Elizabeth Koshy, Josip Car and Azeem Majeed

About NHS Camden:

NHS Camden is the local NHS organisation responsible for providing healthcare for people who live in the borough of Camden - a population of about 220,000 people. We commission or pay for services from a wide range of health providers, including GPs, dentists, opticians and community pharmacies, acute trusts and mental health trusts. We are also responsible for supporting the local population of Camden to maximise health by promoting healthy lifestyles for example through services like the stop smoking service and sensible drinking service.

NHS Camden Contact:

Sonia Amos

sonia.amos@camdenpct.nhs.uk

About iPLATO:

iPLATO is independent innovation company founded in London in the autumn of 1999. In 2003, iPLATO was awarded a SMART Feasibility Grant by the Department of Trade and Industry to study the feasibility for national implementation of a system to remind outpatients about scheduled appointments using text messaging technology.

2008 saw extensive roll out of iPLATO Patient Care Messaging to GP surgeries across 12 Primary Care Trusts in England. Recognised by the European Commission as one of the top ten early stage technology ventures ready to “reshape their industry and to conquer the global market” iPLATO has also featured on the Red Herring Europe Top 200.

Our solutions improve patient access to healthcare, deliver population-wide mobile health promotion and support people with long term conditions. Our mission is to support patients in achieving longer, healthier lives.

Press Contact:

Julia Hanley
Julia.Hanley@iplato.net
One Lyric Square,

London, W6 0NB

www.iplato.net