Thank you.

Really.

GP surgeries do an amazing job at the best of times. We're now in the third year of a global pandemic, and you've somehow managed to provide exceptional care throughout.

Considering we're all functioning adults here and some of us still struggle to get out of bed on a Monday morning, we can't help but doff our caps to you.

We understand the problems surgeries face. We haven't lived them – the somnambulant schedules, the countless calls, the exasperated patients – but we understand them.

And one problem that we keep seeing is that GP practices are struggling with antiquated phone systems. Perhaps we've noticed because that's the one area where we can really help.

(Also, we're telephone geeks. We can't help but pay attention to these things.)

So, cards on the table. In this post, we're going to try to convince you of the virtues of our cloud-based telephony systems. Not as a hard sell – we kind of hate hard sells – but because we genuinely believe we can add value at this difficult time.

Plus, with the government offering grants for surgeries to improve their phone systems, it seems like the perfect opportunity to introduce ourselves.

Let's look at some of the problems with traditional phone systems and how our cloud-based systems can help solve them.

GP surgery phone systems: the problem

We know you're busy (like, doing-six-jobs-for-the-price-of-one busy), so let's start with the short version.

Traditional phone systems are woefully under equipped for the challenges GPs face today.

We're not just talking about cutting-edge features here (although we do offer some cool tech - more on that later). We're talking in terms of simply being able to handle the expected volume of patient enquiries.

As you know, this is an especially pressing issue today. GPs and practice managers face constant calls to improve patient satisfaction. All the while, demand for appointments is higher than ever – it rose by 1.8 million between September and December 2021 alone.

And as pressure mounts, quelle surprise, complaints soar. And the number one cause for complaints? Communications. By a margin of more than 20%.

Patients still expect easy access to medical care. Even if you have two or more traditional phone lines, callers are still going to face engaged tones, long waiting times and understandably stressed staff when they do get through.

Therein lies problem number one: call management, or rather the lack of it. When it comes to directing and fielding calls, common-or-garden telephony is – excuse the non-medical language – rubbish.

"But", you might be thinking to yourself, "we can do digital consultations now".

Yes, good point. Online appointments have proven popular with doctors. In fact, recent research shows that 88% of GPs want to conduct more remote consultations in future.

They do, however, have their own issues. The switch to online medical care was necessitated by COVID. It's happened fast. Patients and staff have had to adjust quickly to an unfamiliar system.

And that's problem number two: how can practices make online consulting as seamless as possible for everyone involved? After all, digital care isn't going away anytime soon.

Those are the pain points. Now let's see how we can help soothe them, like an anaesthetist with a vial of indomethacin. (Sorry. That's our attempt at medical humour.)

GP surgery phone systems: the solution

First off, a quick introduction to our specialist phone systems for GP surgeries.

The systems we install and maintain use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology. This means audio is transmitted through your internet connection, rather than a standard phone line.

For most applications, it works just like a traditional phone system. Staff can pick up a receiver, dial a number, and enjoy clear, uninterrupted conversations.

What's so special about them, then? Well, for GPs, the biggest boon is the abundance of features that would simply be impossible with a regular landline.

Let's consider the first problem we mentioned: call management.

Without VoIP, installing multiple phone lines is expensive and disruptive. With VoIP, you can scale up your call-fielding capacity instantly.

Calls get siphoned into queues, where they can be dealt with by individual members of staff. If the lines are particularly busy, adding another call queue is as simple as logging into that spare handset.

Plus, it's easy to implement patient-friendly features like automated messaging that tells callers their position in the queue. You can even allow patients to request a callback at the touch of a button.

The results? More efficient call handling, less stress for staff, and all-around happier patients. And we don't need to tell you how important these things are.

What about that other quandary – how to make digital consultations more seamless? You guessed it, our phone systems can help with that too.

This is because our technology isn't limited by the humble telephone handset. It's a multi-device solution, which can be used across PCs, laptops and smartphones too.

GPs and other medical staff can make video calls from pretty much any location. They have access to the same secure patient and contact records, and everything is logged and recorded, just as with audio calls.

And as for patients? Thanks to a mind-blowing innovation called WebRTC, they too can video chat from any device – and they don't even need to download any software or plugins. This is great for patients who perhaps aren't the most technologically savvy.

And there's more...

We're dying to tell you about some more nifty benefits, like the cost savings...the seamless SystmOne integration...the call recording features. But we'll save those for another post.

If you'd like to know more now, take a look at our page that covers all the benefits of VoIP phone systems for GPs. Or schedule an appointment with our medical systems specialist for a no-obligation chat.

And while you're here, perhaps you'd like to sign up for our Knowledge Hub? We'll send useful IT news and tips that can benefit all sectors, GP practices included.