In this episode, Vinay speaks with Jacob from AccuRx. Jacob is one of the creators of Chain SMS, a program designed for primary care to be able to easily and quickly communicate with their patients, video consult, and send documents. The text-based service has proved a hit with many doctors in a huge shift to virtual and remote consultations in response to Covid-19.
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Topics Covered in this Episode:
- Chain SMS and its key features
- The why
- Vinay’s experience with Chain SMS
- How AccuRx mobilised quickly
- Chain SMS statistics
- The interesting ways Chain SMS has been used during COVID
- Will there be continued use or growth after the pandemic?
Chain SMS and its key features
- Originally designed for GP practices to communicate information with patients
- Over the past few weeks, have added the ability to collect data from patients, send documents, video consult, etc.
- The problem and the solution
“As a company, we believe that healthcare is a communication industry.”
The why
- Initially worked on antibiotic prescribing and how to send information to patients
- They wanted to build something easy-to-adopt and a useful way for doctors to contact patients. This led to them launching Chain SMS two years ago
- Jacob has a personal interest in healthcare systems and improving workflow
Vinay’s experience with Chain SMS
- Chain SMS formed part of a model supporting a switch to a total triage system where patients avoid coming into the surgery
“We do a new release of our software every couple of days, and are constantly making really small improvements.”
How AccuRx mobilised quickly
- Dedicated time to building good infrastructure (updating software, user accounts, support team, etc.)
- The team is committed to helping users and improving constantly
- Over a weekend in March, they enabled features to help doctors respond more effectively to Covid-19
- They wanted something that worked without an app or required new hardware and have also developed a hospital version
“The need to communicate has only just become a lot more acute during Covid, because things cannot be solved face-to-face.”
Chain SMS statistics
- 6 400 GP practices in England using the service out of a possible 7000
- 150 000 patient messages sent each day
- 15 000 documents and patient responses
The interesting ways Chain SMS has been used during COVID
- Practices can speak to patients on the phone, create a summary of the record or referral, and send it directly to the patient for them to take it to hospital if needed
- Adding multiple people to video calls (other family members or interpreters)
- Patients wait in the car park, and doctors send an SMS when they’re ready to see the patient
Will there be continued use or growth after the pandemic?
- Some facets aren’t specific to coronavirus
- Plans and hopes to bring new features and growth beyond primary care
- New features like facilitating patient initiation of sending a message
For more information:
Website: https://www.accurx.com/