The Eastern Academic Health Science Network, one of 15 AHSNs in England, has produced a lessons learnt and implementation guide with support from the Lea Valley Health Federation in Hertfordshire.
The five-step-guide focuses on the patient engagement element of delivering a digital primary care service.
The digital primary care guide is available to download via the Eastern AHSN website
According to the annual NHS GP patient survey (2017), 85% of patients still normally book their appointments over the phone. Despite drives to promote online access, only 8% say that they book their appointments online, despite a significant increase in the availability of online booking services.
Many GP practices are now offering online transactions, such as appointment booking, repeat prescriptions and virtual routine assessments. This shift to online services will not only improve the quality of care through enhancing patients’ experience of services but will also help practices to realise efficiency benefits such as reduced administrative burden and fewer missed appointments.
Stacie Coburn, Principal Advisor at the Eastern Academic Health Science Network “More effective engagement that helps to improve digital literacy in the community is needed in order to encourage the switch to online services, where appropriate. We hope that this new guide will help primary care providers understand different approaches to engaging communities and deliver more efficient and accessible services in a sustainable way.”
