Since the official launch of the new smartphone app, myGP, just over eight weeks ago, an additional ten CCGs representing over 2 million patients and 300 GP practices, have enabled, myGP, the free patient facing platform to help speed up access to care, 24/7, by allowing patients to securely book and/or cancel appointments remotely on their smartphone.
Since the launch of myGP, over 16,000 patients have registered to use the service. However, patients aren’t the only ones to benefit from using this ‘round-the-clock’ service.
With the number of practices and patients on myGP set to grow rapidly and a new ‘Book a Flu appointment’ feature that aims to significantly reduce practice effort in inviting and booking patients in for their flu jab, this approach at one of the busiest times of year within primary care aims to target more ‘at risk’ patients and especially those who suffer with long term conditions. To highlight the impact of an integrated mobile approach to improving care, between January and July this year, the iPLATO service freed up nearly 200,000 GP appointments through mobile cancellations, avoiding an estimated 18,000¹ visits to urgent care including A&E.
Tobias Alpsten, CEO, iPLATO comments; “We are delighted with the growth of myGP and the initial reception it has received from Commissioners, GP practices and patients. Our mobile patient facing service looks to simplify and speed up the appointment process with ultimate goal of making a huge difference in addressing a variety of patient outcomes.
