AccuRx Decommissioning
Many of you will be aware that we have been piloting the use of a new digital system called Patchs to manage our online requests such as submitting a medical or admin request. We have continued to use our existing system called Accurx for our SMS messaging, questionnaires and appointment booking links which you may have received from us during the trial.
Our aim has been to open an additional means of contacting the practice to provide more flexibility to our patients who may not be able to call us or attend the surgery.
The detailed level of information that Patchs provides to our team of clinicians helps to ensure that everyone is seen by the right person in a timely manner. It also preserves on-the-day capacity for those who really need it and helps us to signpost you to additional external services that may be more appropriate for your needs.
We are now in the position where we need to move to a single system for digital communications. Therefore on 02/07/24, we will be decommissioning Accurx at GPS Healthcare and moving solely to Patchs.
What will this mean to you?
Patchs offers very similar functionality to Accurx in terms of sending SMS messages, questionnaires and appointment booking links. They will still be sent to you via text message or email (depending on your chosen contact preferences), and you will still have the option to click a link to reply to us, complete a questionnaire or select an appointment from a drop-down list. However, the format of the message may look slightly different.
We want to make you aware of this change as sometimes it can be difficult to trust an unfamiliar text message, especially ones containing links to click.
Please see the image below to see an example of how a text message from us will look like.
After you click the link, you will be asked to consent to using Patchs and confirm your date of birth as an additional security check, then you can read or respond to the message (where required).
Below is an example image of what it will look like when you receive a message from us via email through Patchs:
As with the text message, you will be asked to consent to using Patchs and enter your date of birth then you can read or respond to the message (where required).
We are driving this change in our digital systems not to alienate anyone or avoid speaking to you over the telephone but to try to keep up with the increasing demand we are facing for our services. We want to make ourselves as accessible as possible for as many people as possible, providing more flexibility to fit in with their lifestyles. By directing those who can, to use online services, those of us who cannot reach us more easily by telephone.
If you have queries or concerns about how you receive our messages or would like to know more about how to access our digital services, please visit our website or contact a member of the GPS Team.
Further to this message, we will also be sending out test communications via Patchs in the coming weeks so that you know what to expect in the future.
We would also like to take the opportunity to thank you for your patience and perseverance through this time of digital change. We do understand for some, it is not easy to transition into digital services. We would like to encourage those of you who have not already accessed our services via Patchs or the NHS App to please do so, as it will benefit you through having increased access to NHS services going forward.
