As the flu season approaches, GP surgeries face an influx of patients seeking vaccinations and treatment for flu-related illnesses. Managing this increased demand for healthcare services requires effective communication systems to ensure patients receive the care they need.
Surgery Connect, the market-leading Cloud telephony solution for primary care offers multiple features that can support GP surgeries during this critical period.
Scalability and Flexibility
Cloud telephony provides the advantage of easily scalable solutions, which GP surgeries can quickly adapt to match the increased demand during the flu season. Rather than being limited by physical phone lines, cloud-based systems offer flexibility and scalability as required. For example, Surgery Connect allows users to easily create a defined Flu Clinic call group to manage the increased demand. Surgeries can also deploy a dedicated Flu Clinic line to handle the increased demand and reduce the burden on the main reception line.
Create a dedicated Flu Clinic line with a dedicated number and Flu Call Group, and control it with its own calendar
Keeping Patients Informed
By keeping patients informed about a Flu Clinic, surgeries can maximise participation, ensure efficient clinic operations, and cultivate a positive patient experience. Keeping patients informed about the details of the flu clinic, such as the date, time, and location, enables individuals to plan and prepare accordingly. With Surgery Connect practices can easily add specific clinic messages to their welcome message to inform incoming callers about their flu clinic services.
Automating Patient Reminders
SMS reminders provide an effective way to reduce missed appointments and no-shows in GP surgeries during flu season. Reminding patients about their upcoming appointments via SMS reduces the risk of a missed or cancelled appointment. Ultimately, SMS reminders enable GP surgeries to deliver high-quality care and ensure their flu clinic runs smoothly. Surgery Connect streamlines this process by allowing staff to message individual or multiple patients directly from the Phonebar.
Add a menu option for Flu Information which can route the caller to an SMS Block. Callers can request flu information via SMS, or you can offer them the option of a booking form via SMS. (Create a new SMS template)
Reducing staff Burden with Self-serve Features
Check and Cancel (Feature Coming soon) is an appointment self-serve feature aimed at reducing traffic to Reception and giving patients greater flexibility. The newly updated feature helps patients manage their flu clinic appointments via the phone, freeing up the main call line for more urgent enquiries.
By using the Cancel feature the patient’s clinical record is automatically updated and the cancelled appointment slots are released immediately for booking.
Watch our webinar to learn more about our upcoming Check and Cancel feature
Deliver a Successful Flu Clinic with Surgery Connect
Surgery Connect presents a valuable solution for GP surgeries during the flu season, enabling improved call handling, efficient communication, and scalability. By leveraging Cloud-based telephony, GP surgeries can enhance the patient experience, optimise staff productivity, and effectively manage the increased demand for healthcare services. As the flu season continues to present challenges for GP surgeries, embracing Cloud telephony will become increasingly essential for delivering efficient and effective care to patients.
Further Reading…
Read our Lead Product Manager, Melissa Lato’s thoughts on the Flu season and Cloud telephony in Health Tech Digital.
