This article covers:
New patient landing experience
This feature was released in December 2022 and is switch on as default if you have any questions please email practice.support@econsult.health.
We’ve introduced changes to your practice eConsult site which should make it easier and quicker for your patients to complete an eConsults. We designed the new patient landing experience for three main reason:
Help shorten and streamline the patient journey. We know a more accurate template selection matters to practices (it improves triaging and safety) and a shorter journey matters to patients (it reduces frustration).
More upfront signposting to pharmacy and self-help to help remind patients about alternative services, aiming to reduce pressure on practices.
Another step towards giving practices more control over what they display to patients on the homepage (clearer messages when the practice is closed).
The following changes have been made:
Simpler way to select the right template, with quick access to the most common templates
Signposting to NHS 111 (where appropriate), NHS self-help A-Z and pharmacy finder right from the homepage, including out of hours
Improved out-of-hours experience, without links that go nowhere
Tidier UI with exciting glimpses of the new eConsult brand
Ability to show or hide Reviews on the homepage (via customer support)
The new patient journey
The patients start their request by selecting from one of the main options:
Adult health problems - Patients over the age of 16 can use this option for advice about health symptoms for themselves or another adult they care for.
Child health problems - Guardians can use this option to ask for advice about health symptoms for a child between 6month and 18 years.
Sick notes, test results or administrative help - Patients over the age of 16 can use this option to request sick notes, test results and other paperwork from the practice
Reviews for long-term conditions, medication or contraception - Patients can submit reviews for long term conditions, this should be submitted following a recommendation from the practice
At the bottom the patient will see links to helpful alternative services such as pharmacy, 111 and NHS self-help advice.
The changes have only been made to the front screens all template content remains the same.
Adult health problems
If the patient selects “Adult health problems”, they can continue their request by selecting the topic they want to ask about by:
Typing the main symptom or condition into the search to find what you need
Choosing one of the most common problem buttons
Or choosing “All problems A-Z” to see the full list of topics you can ask about.
Once they select a topic, we ask the patient to consider if they've already tried alternative services such as pharmacy or 111. They can select “I still want to contact my GP practice” to continue their request.
Request health advice for a child
If the patient selects “Child health problems”, they will see a list of topics they can ask about. They must select the one that most closely matches the nature of their request for their child.
Once they've select the topic, we will ask them to consider alternative services such as pharmacy or 111 before they continue with their request.
Admin requests
By pressing Admin request this takes them straight to the admin templates where they can request a sick note, test results or other paperwork
Submitting Long Term Condition Reviews
Patients are able to submit regular reviews, this is likely to be requested by the practice. The patient selects “Reviews for long term conditions, medication or contraception”. They will see a list of reviews, they can choose the one they have been requested to complete in order to proceed.
Sharing feedback
We are keen to hear from you regarding these change, you can easily share your feedback here, or by email practice.support@econsult.health.
FAQs
Can I remove the reviews for long term conditions from the homepage?
Yes, you can request the final option Reviews for long term conditions, medication or contraception is removed from the list. Patients will only be able to access the reviews by a practice specific URL supplied by the practice or if they have previously bookmarked the link.
Can I customise the list of most commonly accessed templates?
When selecting Adult health problems the list displayed is not customisable, but reflects the overall usage for all eConsult templates.
Can I customise which options appear at the bottom of the homepage (111, pharmacy, self-help)?
At the moment, this is not customisable, but we welcome any feedback please email practice.support@econsult.health.
Does search still work the same?
Yes, we haven’t made any changes to the way search works.
Will I need to update any links to eConsult, or change the way my dynamic banner is set up?
No, the practice doesn't need to make any changes, all previous links will still work.