Patients will be able to book doctor’s appointments through their smartphones thanks to an app lauched by medical software firm Emis.
The Leeds-based company, which creates systems to digitally link patients and medical professionals, launched the Patient Access smartphone application through its health website Patient.co.uk.
Emis claims it is the UK’s first GP appointment booking app, and also allows patients to order repeat prescriptions, securely contact their practice and update personal details.
Stock market-listed Emis is the UK’s biggest supplier of digital patient record services to GPs in the UK. However, the app only works with patients of GP surgeries which use Emis’s software.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, clinical consultant at Patient.co.uk, said: “Over a third (39 per cent) of visits to the Patient.co.uk site are now via mobile device.
“As a working GP, this isn’t surprising to me – more and more of my patients are seeking out new ways, often involving technology, to manage their health. Booking GP appointments and ordering repeat prescriptions quickly and easily via an app is a significant development that is absolutely in tune with modern living.”
Patient Access is one of the first apps to feature in the NHS Commissioning Board’s new Health Apps Library - a collection of recommended online tools designed to improve the health and wellbeing of the nation. The library was launched at the Healthcare Innovation Expo 2013.
Patient Access is currently used by more than 1.8 million patients from over 2,200 GP practices. In January 2013 alone, more than a quarter of a million requests for repeat medication were made through the service, and over 148,000 GP appointments were booked.
Historically the Patient Access service has enabled patients of Emis practices to access services online via their desktop computer or laptop. However, feedback from GPs and patients suggested the move to mobile devices.
Emis has a vision of digitally joining up healthcare in the UK. Its Emis Web service links medical professionals, from GPs to neurosurgeons, allowing them to share patients’ records at the click of a button.
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