EMIS Access could save the NHS £29.2 million per year

Online appointment booking with EMIS Access

You control EMIS Access

How EMIS Access works is up to you - it can be tailored to best meet your individual practice's needs. You can choose which online services you choose to offer your patients, from online booking to secure messaging to pre-registration. You can even choose which appointments you want to show online - it's your system so you can set it up however it will best help your practice.

Popular with patients

EMIS Access not only saves both time and money for the practice, but also allows reception staff to focus on other key areas and provide a better service to patients. The service has benefits for patients without internet access too - EMIS Access means that less people will be ringing the surgery, so it makes the practice more accessible over the phone.

The service has proved particularly popular with busy commuters, the elderly and people with disabilities. Families with young children are welcoming the service, as children often become ill at night, and parents can put their minds at rest by booking an appointment straightaway. Then if the child feels better in the morning, the appointment can be cancelled just as easily.

Impressive savings for GP practices

One small practice in Stockport estimates EMIS Access saved it almost £900 in its first year, with 10 per cent of patients choosing to book online. The service has now grown in popularity, with 15 per cent of practice patients using the system.

Practice manager Johan Taylor said: "Once converted, our patients rarely go back to traditional booking methods. With less involvement needed from reception staff, it has freed them to concentrate on developing other areas of our service.

"And despite our initial worries, patients do not book any more appointments just because they can book online."

Huge savings for the NHS

EMIS Access could save the NHS at least £29.2 million per year, at a conservative estimate.

It costs a practice on average 67p in overheads to book an appointment. There are approximately 39,600 appointments booked each year and there are 5,500 practices using EMIS. If just 10 per cent of those appointments are booked using EMIS Access, that represents a £14.6 million saving each year.

If the same patients also order their repeat prescriptions through EMIS Access, at the same cost, the saving for the NHS rises to £29.2 million, each year.

We anticipate that more than 10 per cent of patients will use EMIS Access - there are potentially 27 million NHS patients across England that could benefit from the system.

Get involved

If you are using EMIS LV5.2 or EMIS PCS then you can start using EMIS Access straight away provided you have configured the software. EMIS Access is quick and easy to set up, simply download the easy to follow configuration instructions: TH349 PCS configuring EMIS Access or TH142 LV configuring EMIS Access . Training is also available and detailed below.

Note: only EMIS Access appointment booking is available to EMIS PCS practices. Repeat prescription ordering and other modules are currently under development.

Training services

Although configuring and using EMIS Access is straightforward, EMIS can provide your practice with a training session to allow you to get the best out of the system without spending too much time self-training. The session covers the following aspects:

• Configuring EMIS Access
• Tips for recruiting patients and promoting EMIS Access to your patients
• Instruction for registering patients with the service and their ongoing management
• EMIS Access - the practice's perspective
• EMIS Access - the patients' perspective
• Auditing EMIS Access usage and uptake
• Discussing the impact of EMIS Access upon the practice

This session will cost £305+VAT and lasts three hours. To book your session, please contact Field Operations on 0845 123 4455 or email fieldoperations@e-mis.com

Promotional materials

A number of promotional materials are available to help practices promote EMIS Access services to patients. Two different posters are available to download, print and display in the surgery, choose from the appointment booking poster and/or repeat prescribing poster . In addition, a patient leaflet is also available, this provides a short summary of the features and explains how a patient can register and get started with EMIS Access.

Alternatively, practices can request pre-printed posters and leaflets via EMIS Field Operations. Simply telephone 0845 123 4455 or email fieldoperations@e-mis.com with your requirements and CDB number.