Messaging patients has moved on significantly from the days when practices had access to only one message carrier and used this simply for Appointment reminders or batch messaging flu invites. Most online consultation suppliers now offer the ability to communicate with patients via their platform, and this could be via secure data messaging in an App, SMS (text) or email.

NHS App messaging service is now available and allows patients to receive in-App messages from their surgery, instead of other traditional communication methods like SMS (text message) or letter and saves the GP practice costs.

Care is also now delivered via messaging platforms and can allow patients to reply, along with adding attachments such as photographs or to complete online forms with clinical information as part of long-term care reviews.

Practices and PCNs have to remember to revisit privacy notices to ensure that consent to use mobiles is clear to patients and the NHS have provided a template for email and message communications to help. Messages should be active and not drive further demand. Be clear with patients about the next steps and goals and practices and PCNs should consider:

• GP practices who are inviting people to make Appointments for follow-ups should state which clinician, what for, when where and how they wish patients to do this in the message
• GP practices should check outgoing messages to see how many are just asking the patients to ring the surgery without this detail
• GP practice messages should aim to reduce unnecessary calls to the practice and enable patients to respond to an invite online, without needing to phone or physically come in to respond to a request
• allowing patients to auto-cancel Appointments can reduce ‘Do Not Attends’ and release the Appointment available for the next patient quickly, without intervention by the practice staff
• if patients can reply to a message with additional information, even when a GP practice is closed, they are less likely to forget the next day, which again reduces unnecessary phone calls to the practice

You should also consider the following:

• encouraging use of the NHS App with its secure inbox for data messages also reduces the cost to the NHS and is available to NHS commissioned services for free
• many ICBs have a limited SMS budget and often cap the amount of credit they offer for SMS, but this shouldn’t affect the quality of the message however keep messages short and to the point
• for longer messages or instances where there is a need to supply lots of detail, GP practices should create content on their website and cascade this via social media, then post the link to this info in a message

Benefits for Practice

• Audit trail, saved in the clinical system
• Improved data quality and coded content in records
• Quick and easy way to communicate with patients
• Use templated messages to deliver consistency

Benefits for patients

• Raised awareness and signposting to trusted NHS.uk alternatives and self-help advice
• Quicker response, increased satisfaction, reduced complaints
• Reminders for long-term conditions and vaccinations
• Convenient – can respond to messages when surgery is closed

Resources

• NHS App messaging service
• uk How rewriting messages can save money
• NHS Using mobile messaging – governance guidance
• NHS Email and Text message communication guidance
• Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West, the BOB ICS SMS fragment reduction and best practice

Sussex Introduction to the Count before you Send campaign SMS usage video

General Practice Appointment Data – GPAD