NHS Digital Transformation: Transforming GP Surgeries with Intelligent Call Routing Systems

As the NHS undergoes a significant digital transformation, innovative call management solutions are playing a crucial role in improving patient access to healthcare services. With the majority of patients (68%) preferring to call their GP surgery rather than relying on online access, intelligent call routing systems have emerged as a vital component of this transformation.

Over-reliance on the NHS App as a key channel for digital transformation has led some patients to feel that easy access to medical help, repeat prescriptions, and sick notes is only available to those who can get online.

The Importance of Effective Telephone Journeys

Effective telephone journeys are the backbone of excellent patient care and satisfaction in NHS GP surgeries. A well-designed telephone journey can significantly reduce waiting times, enhance patient engagement, and boost overall efficiency.

By understanding and prioritising the optimisation of their telephony systems, practices can ensure that patients receive timely and efficient service. This not only improves patient outcomes but also reduces the burden on staff, allowing them to focus on patient care navigation.

Ultimately, a seamless telephone journey enhances the overall patient experience, making it a crucial aspect of modern healthcare delivery.

Understanding Call Routing

Call routing is a fundamental element in managing incoming calls effectively. It involves directing calls to the most appropriate agent or call queue based on predefined rules and criteria. This process is essential for handling peak call times, reducing the number of abandoned calls, and improving patient satisfaction.

By implementing efficient call routing strategies, practices can ensure that patients are connected to the right person quickly, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency of their telephony systems. Understanding and optimising call routing is key to providing better patient care and improving operational efficiency.

Benefits of Intelligent Call Routing

Intelligent call routing takes traditional call routing to the next level by utilising advanced AI algorithms and data analytics. This sophisticated approach ensures that calls are directed to the most suitable agent or call queue, significantly improving patient satisfaction and reducing waiting times.

Intelligent call routing is particularly beneficial during peak call times, as it helps manage the high volume of calls more effectively, reducing the likelihood of abandoned calls. By implementing intelligent call routing, practices can enhance patient engagement, streamline their operations, and ultimately provide better patient care.

AI-Powered Virtual Receptionists for NHS Telephone Answering Services

At the heart of this technological revolution are AI-powered virtual receptionists, which are transforming the way NHS GP surgeries handle incoming calls. These intelligent systems answer calls immediately, and are capable of streamlining the call flow, providing efficient service that reduces wait times and supports the NHS’s access goals.

As an advanced telephone answering service, AI-powered virtual receptionists ensure that patients receive the same level of engagement as if they were greeted by a live person, enhancing the professional image of GP surgeries.

By handling multiple calls simultaneously, virtual receptionists ensure continuous availability, allowing patients to receive support outside of standard hours and alleviating the pressures of peak-time demand. Furthermore, these AI-powered systems can instantly check doctor availability and suggest optimal appointment times, making the scheduling process faster and more convenient for patients.

Virtual receptionists provide an optimised telephone answering service for GP surgeries looking to improve efficiency and patient experience, without resorting to hiring more receptionists or outsourcing to an external answering service team.

Cloud-Based Telephony Systems: Enhancing Call Routing in NHS GP Surgeries

The NHS’s rollout of digital phone systems in over 5,800 GP practices has been a significant step towards improving call capacity and accessibility. These cloud-based telephony solutions offer expanded call lines and eliminate engaged signals, ensuring a smooth flow of incoming calls.

Cloud-based telephony systems help reduce operating costs by streamlining agent workflows and optimising call handling. Trials have shown a nearly 30% increase in patients’ ability to reach their practice, highlighting the importance of effective call routing in meeting NHS access goals. These digital systems also provide GP surgeries with reliable and scalable call handling capabilities, especially during peak times when demand is highest.

Conversational AI and Intelligent Call Routing for NHS GP Surgeries

Conversational AI and intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) are taking call routing and screening to new levels of efficiency. These advanced systems can quickly assess the nature of each incoming call and route it to the appropriate department or staff member, optimising the use of valuable healthcare resources.

Conversational AI and IVAs do away with frustrating call menu options within Interactive Voice Response (IVR) phone systems, directing patients' calls more efficiently than ever before.

IVAs can also authenticate patients and collect essential information, saving 20-30 seconds per call and reducing the workload on reception staff. This not only addresses the issue of staff burnout but also improves job satisfaction by allowing them to focus on more complex tasks.

Moreover, conversational AI can handle routine status updates, such as test results, and frequently asked questions, providing patients with timely information without tying up staff resources.

Optimising Call Handling with Data

Data is a powerful tool in optimising call handling within NHS GP surgeries. By analysing key data points such as call volumes, wait times, and abandoned calls, practices can identify areas for improvement and make informed decisions about their telephony systems.

Real-time data allows for dynamic adjustments, such as modifying staffing levels or updating call routing rules, to better meet patient needs.

Leveraging data in this way not only improves patient satisfaction by reducing waiting times but also increases overall efficiency, ensuring that resources are used effectively.

Real-Time Telephony Dashboards

Real-time telephony dashboards offer a visual representation of critical telephony data, providing practices with immediate insights into their call handling performance. These dashboards can display key metrics such as how many calls there are, wait times, and abandoned call volumes in real-time, enabling practices to quickly identify and address any issues.

By monitoring these metrics, practices can make informed decisions to optimise their telephony systems, improve patient satisfaction, and reduce waiting times.

Streamlining Optimisation

Real-time telephony dashboards may seem like an excellent tool for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of call handling in NHS GP surgeries, but the reality is most practices are too busy to monitor all the information available in real time.

The role of technology in streamlining call routing and delivering a telephone answering service may be better suited to simply answering the phone, identifying whether the caller has an administrative or medical need and then either capturing details in a form, or routing the call appropriately.

Real-World Impact: AI Call Routing and Call Queue Management at Work in NHS GP Surgeries

QuantumLoopAi has already demonstrated the transformative power of intelligent call routing in NHS GP surgeries. These solutions have achieved remarkable results, including:

• 100% of calls answered within 3 rings

• 15 work days saved per week

• 82% of calls handled entirely automatically

• 128% increase in patient detail forms submitted

• 41% of abandoned calls picked up

• Over 90% of patients reporting a positive improvement in service

Managing missed or abandoned calls is crucial for improving patient satisfaction and reducing the number of calls that go unanswered.

These statistics highlight the significant impact that AI-driven call management can have on the efficiency and patient experience within GP practices.

QuantumLoopAi optimises the utilisation of the reception team, routing callers through for manual handling in just 18% of cases. This frees up the team to improve care navigation, complete administrative tasks more quickly and deliver more value from their skill sets.

Furthermore, a consistent and professional conversational AI gives the right impression from the first moment callers reach the surgery.

Addressing Challenges in Implementing Intelligent Call Routing Systems

While the benefits of intelligent call routing systems are clear, implementing these solutions comes with its own set of challenges. These include the higher costs associated with cloud-based telephony, the ongoing mismatch between patient demand and clinical staff availability, and the need to address patient preferences for human interaction, particularly for sensitive issues.

Higher Costs from Digital Phone Systems

The BMA has warned that new cloud-based telephony systems are significantly increasing the cost of managing calls within practices. When evaluating call routing solutions, surgeries should be looking at the total cost per call alongside potential savings from improved efficiency and resource allocation.

Patient Experience and Expectations

When engaging with a conversational AI system, callers expect to be routed based on their needs, which may include speaking to a real human. Collaboration within the practice team is essential to ensure patient demand is supported by clinical staff availability.

Equity and accessibility must also be prioritised, ensuring that patients patients who are less comfortable with technology or have specific needs (e.g., language barriers, hearing impairments) are not disadvantaged.

Technical Challenges and Considerations

Ensuring the reliability of these systems, maintaining data security and compliance, and seamlessly integrating them with existing NHS IT infrastructure are critical considerations.

Call routing solutions should minimise demands on technical teams to implement and maintain them. Off-site solutions, hosted outside of NHS infrastructure, can reduce technical workloads, but need to be carefully assessed to ensure seamless integration with NHS IT infrastructure and adherence to data protection and security standards.

Reducing Dropped or Abandoned Calls

Automated call answering and routing rules can eliminate missed calls, but may have an inverse impact on abandoned calls if not aligned with patient expectations. Routing calls to leave a voice message may encourage callers to hang up and try again later, for fear their messages will not be prioritised.

Some solutions, such as QuantumLoopAi's SOFIA (Smart Outreach for Information Assistant) are able to re-engage with dropped calls to reduce the number of truly abandoned calls.

The Future of Intelligent Call Routing in NHS Digital Transformation

As the NHS continues its digital transformation, intelligent call routing systems will play an increasingly vital role in enhancing the efficiency and patient experience of GP surgeries. Intelligent routing has the capacity to transform patient experience from the frustrations they typically experience with an IVR system that seeks to deliver equivalent routing.

By streamlining call handling, optimising staff resources, and providing convenient access to healthcare services, these solutions are poised to become an integral part of the modern, digital-enabled NHS.

However, addressing the implementation challenges and ensuring a holistic approach to digital transformation will be crucial for the successful adoption and long-term success of intelligent call routing systems within the NHS.

Any new system for call routing should provide more control over how calls are routed and demands are placed on already stretched resources. Call routing should mirror the flexibility of other channels to deliver the right impression from the moment a patient makes contact with their surgery.

By embracing these innovative technologies, GP practices can better serve their communities, improve patient outcomes, and contribute to the overall success of the NHS’s digital transformation journey.