Have a clear plan so that the team can be aligned on principles, goals & process

1. Recognise what isn't working in the current system

Being clear about what isn't working can be the driving force behind the change, preparing you to deal with the change-management challenges and helping you to convince the practice team to commit to the change.

Here's an example from Stratford Village Surgery who were struggling with unnecessary appointments, as well as low staff morale and patient complaints:

"With our previous online triage provider, patients would wait in a queue for 40 minutes to be told to fill out an online form. Backlogs would build and patients could wait weeks for a reply. There were no confirmation emails and patients would often complain. So did the admin staff. The PDF forms came unmatched to the patient's record, and most were booked with an appointment. Doctors complained that â…“ of their appointments were not required."

2. Set priorities and goals for what you'd like to achieve with Patient Triage

https://www.loom.com/share/4814cac800ce4f0f9678129ac539a39a

Setting specific goals with a timeframe in mind can help to align teams. Based on their desired triage principles, here are two goals that Stratford Village Surgery made when starting their implementation based on their priorities:

  1. Respond back to patients in under 24 hours within 6 weeks of going live
  2. Reduce unnecessary appointments by 10% within 12 weeks of going live

<aside> 💡 Tip: Good goals are always paired with a time

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3. Support the practice team with the change

Gain buy-in from the team

Switching online consultation providers or starting online consultation may dramatically change the way your practice operates. It will affect your patients, your frontline staff and your clinical team. A change of this magnitude needs dedicated time from the 'practice champion' and authority to change the roles and responsibilities of other staff i.e. Switching reception staff from phones to forms. Bringing everyone along on the journey and process of change will increase motivation and lead to more positive outcomes.