FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Your Questions Answered

Find answers to your questions below.

General

How can GPs use Klinik to meet patient demand?

We recognise the immense pressures on general practice. Online technology such as Klinik can help patients to make contact with their GP practice without having to come into the surgery or wait on the phone. From a practice perspective, when implemented effectively, online triage technology can help practices to better manage their time and workload, as well as boost staff morale, improve staff absenteeism and satisfaction. Klinik streamlines the patient online triage process which will support you in tackling the immense pressures experienced in your GP Practices on a daily basis. Klinik does this by tailoring the system to match your individual workflows within each practice and signposting the patient to the right clinician at the right time. Your team will also be able to access our live data tool which will provide live data and give you accurate information around clinical staff activity and support in reporting demand capacity.

What is Klinik?

Klinik is an online triage and patient flow management solution for GP practices, it uses AI to support diagnoses and helps efficiently direct patient flow. Klinik’s customisable patient pathways connect all the resources in your practice and to the shared resources in your Primary Care Network. It can create a flexible central resource that can help you match resources to demand – use Klinik as a triage hub for multiple surgeries, and leverage demand data to identify where to assign clinical and non-clinical resources. It can help slash the time taken to respond to urgent and routine enquiries with technology that prioritises clinical and non-clinical workload and aids speed enquiry resolution.

Who is the team behind Klinik?

Klinik Healthcare Solutions was founded in 2013 and has grown to a team of 30 clinician and tech professionals with operations in UK, Ireland, Finland, Portugal and Netherlands. Our core team consists of doctors and engineers with leading expertise on how patient pathways should be arranged in order to deliver high quality care and cost-effective processes. Everything our doctors, engineers and expert support team do is driven by a belief that we can truly make a difference in the way patient triage via online consultation is utilised in NHS primary care practices. We believe that the combination of proper process design supported by a bespoke Klinik ensures that each practice can manage patient demand by efficiently connecting and making use of the complete health ecosystem the NHS supports. The way we do this is to make our products configurable, simple to use and user friendly and hold regular feedback sessions with our team to ensure we are capturing your needs. Learn more about our team on our about us page.

Practice

How does Klinik use AI?

Our patient triage tool uses AI to support clinicians to optimise their workflow and patients’ experience of care. The technology helps streamline patient enquiries into a single integrated system, prioritising these in order of urgency, and providing differential diagnosis. This helps practices to see the right patient at the right time and ensures that anyone that doesn’t need to see the GP is triaged to the right place. The technology also provides real-time data on patient queries by time, frequency and condition. Reference: How GPs are using AI as part of Healthcare delivery    

Does Klinik support total triage?

In addition to its online module via which patients can contact the practice, Klinik also supports a telephone module, Klinik Connect, that allows practices to take 100% of the incoming enquiries through the same system, supporting total triage. With its telephone module Klinik provides a solution to support consistency and quality of patient history taking by the reception or a care navigation team, which significantly reduces the need to contact the patient to make a decision who to signpost the patient to. This improves the patient experience as they are dealt with faster and pressure on your staff is reduced as patient demand is more efficiently managed by the right point of care.    

How can Klinik help us to manage demand? What about opening the floodgates?

Klinik can help you to meet demand in a number of ways: 1. Understand true patient demand and manage your resource 2. Deal with patient queries efficiently through prioritisation and booking appointments based on need 3. Organising and managing workload across the practice team and other healthcare providers by being able to collaborate through Klinik’s workflows Read more about how GPs can embrace online technology to meet true patient demand (external link): https://www.nhsconfed.org/articles/gps-can-embrace-technology-meet-true-patient-demand https://klinikhealthcaresolutions.com/overwhelming-patient-demand/    

Can I use Klinik for all administrative and clinical enquiries?

Yes, you can use Klinik for all administrative and clinical enquiries. The tool allows you to set up customisable workflows which can help you to split work efficiently between all relevant resources. The system has a set of standard templates, but these can all be customised.    

How does Klinik work?

Klinik exists to support GP practices in improving patient access, appointment demand management and to support the practice team with interpreting the data from the triage. Klinik works in a similar way to other triage products BUT we differ because our patient triage tool uses AI to support clinicians to optimise their workflow and patients’ experience of care. The technology helps streamline patient enquiries into a single integrated system, prioritising these in order of urgency, and providing differential diagnosis. This helps practices to see the right patient at the right time and ensures that anyone that doesn’t need to see the GP is triaged to the right place. The technology also provides real-time data on patient queries by time, frequency and condition.  

What are the key benefits for our practice?

There are a few benefits listed below which all our current customers are seeing using the platform. It’s important to remember that we will also aim to bespoke the system as best we can and support in the key areas that are a challenge for your practice. You will have access to a data summary each month/quarter which will show the flow of patients, clinician time and patient activity which will in turn help you to make decisions/changes to areas that previously have been a challenge.     The main benefits of using Klinik include: Improved patient Experience More than half a million patients’ response forms show that 87% of the patients rate the system as either excellent or good. Not only do they avoid the waiting room but also experience a faster response from the right point of care. – Priory Medical Group was able to bring routine wait time down to 3 – 10 days from 3 – 4 weeks Reduces costs of healthcare The combination of AI triage and open text fields replicates good patient history taking so well that the quality of information in the Klinik patient report significantly increases the number of cases closed without need to contact the patient and enables efficient redirection of patients to the right point of care first time right. – Portland Medical Centre saved 3 – 4 GP sessions per week and no need for locums     Quality of Care Klinik prioritises care based on needs not on a first-come, first-served basis. This helps to pick up red flags early. Due to the comprehensive reporting of symptoms, the clinician reviewing a case for the first time is able to treat the patient accordingly. Patients are also empowered to self-care in cases where they do not need to see a clinician. – Praze Surgery was able to extend GP appointments to 20min       Supports the Care team’s well being Customisable workflows and hub structure supports streamlining of individual triage outcomes directly into the right team, to self-care options and supports effective utilisation of NHS ARRS roles, whilst enabling the clinician to remain in control of clinical decision making. – Reduction in tasks in clinical system by 21% and significant increase in staff morale – Priory Medical Group    

Can I tailor Klinik to my practice needs? What does it take to implement?

Klinik can be set up to meet your individual practice needs. Thinking about how you want to organise the streamlining process and understanding the possibilities using Klinik is an important step in the change process. It is vital to understand how your practice will use the system, who will be responsible for what and understand why the product has been procured. When you do this, we can provide various system designs for various different practices with different staff mixes. This work should not be overlooked as it is critical to ensuring that once you are ready to go live and will get the benefits that so many of our customers enjoy. Click here to read our client case studies and see how other practices have implemented Klinik.  

What kind of changes in our processes or way of working would we have to make to get the benefits?

Rather than thinking about implementing Klinik as placing new technology into an existing system we encourage you to think about a process of change and embracing a new approach to working utilising the full extent of resources that the NHS supports as part of the ARRS scheme. In our experience, benefits are mostly realised after relevant process change is implemented. It is important to visualise your workflow and map the patient journey to the various possible end points. Klinik will provide you an understanding of your demand, activity and capacity to ensure that any changes you make do not increase your workload or deliver a poor patient experience. The use of Klinik’s telephone module can really transform the efficiency of your practice in getting patients to the right point of care first time right. Although it will require your reception and call handling team to get used to taking patients through the Klinik system, it will significantly increase the quality and consistency of the data that is collected.    

What kind of support does Klinik offer to implement the solution

Klinik offers multi-channel technical support. Our on-boarding and training process will help ensure you are ready to maximise the benefits of using an online triage tool. The Klinik customer success team will support the practice all the way through the implementation and go live. The customer success team will schedule several calls to explain how the system works and provide best practice examples of system set-ups of several customers. Once the configuration has been agreed, the bespoke system will be built and staff will get access to a demo environment to train and test. There is a suite of training videos and support material that provide day to day support through practical tips, short videos and bonus material. We are of course always here to support the team and hold regular meetings online to discuss the progress of the practice. Practice staff also have access to Klinik’s knowledge base, an online resource which features practical tips and video guides on setting up and using Klinik.    

How does Klinik compare with other solutions on the market?

Klinik offers a unique possibility to create bespoke pathways and workflows that will allow you to streamline as efficiently as possible to the right point of care. It will give your team greater control of how you receive patient queries and split workload already at the first step. The combination of AI triage and open text fields replicates good patient history taking so well that the quality of information in the Klinik patient report significantly increases the number of cases closed without need to contact the patient and enables efficient redirection of patients to the right point of care first time right Furthermore, the fact that the system allows you to refer cases between the different teams, our customers increasingly started to use Klinik as a workflow system, using the option to close off cases directly in the system, saving time on admin as well as clinical time. Through klinik’s business intelligence system you will have access to data which will show the flow of patients, clinician time and patient activity which will in turn help you to make decisions/changes to areas that previously have been a challenge and allows you to organise resources much more efficiently. “We’re offering 8,000 more appointments than we were this time last year, with no additional clinical resource.” ~ Dr Emma Broughton, Clinical Director, Priory Medical. Read more about why GPs love Klinik in this blog.    

Patient

How does Klinik use AI?

Our patient triage tool uses AI to support clinicians to optimise their workflow and patients’ experience of care. The technology helps streamline patient enquiries into a single integrated system, prioritising these in order of urgency, and providing differential diagnosis. This helps practices to see the right patient at the right time and ensures that anyone that doesn’t need to see the GP is triaged to the right place. The technology also provides real-time data on patient queries by time, frequency and condition. Reference: How GPs are using AI as part of Healthcare delivery    

Is Klinik safe?

Yes, Klinik is safe. Klinik is a CE marked medical device and is Cyber Essentials accredited. Our safety by design approach ensures that our technology embeds clinical safety at every level. Klinik is also a supplier on the DFOCVC framework which will reassure you that the product is safe and in line with NHS standard requirements for digital technology. Other benefits to being a supplier on this framework include: – greater assurance of products – centralised processes in place for management of any serious incidents that arise in relation to framework products (aligned with GPIT Futures). – more opportunities for aligning product development – for example, to promote interoperability with foundation systems. – more opportunities to differentiate products on the basis of the functionality they provide Read more about Klinik’s approach to safety and its compliance with DCB0129: https://klinikhealthcaresolutions.com/klinik-takes-safety-by-design-to-heart-with-dcb0129-compliance/  

What are the key benefits for our patients? Will they be able to use Klinik?

Patients can access Klinik directly from your practice’s website or on their smartphone on which it will look and function like an app. The tool is relatively simple to use and takes patients through a number of questions, allowing them to go back to a page if they need to. The patients no longer have to call the GP practice at 8 am to secure an appointment or face a long wait in the waiting room. – Portland Medical is able to respond within 3 – 6 hours since they introduced Klinik See what patient’s from Harrow Health are saying about Klinik: https://www.facebook.com/KlinikUK/videos/234939304846695/    

Our partners in primary care

YHEC Economic Benefit Case Study

York Health Economics Consortium evaluated Klinik's patient triage technology at Priory Medical Group's PCN, backed by Yorkshire and Humber AHSN. They found Klinik enabled a year's delivery of 18 months' appointments and saved over £300k in capacity.

Carn to Coast Health Centres Case Study

Faced with recruitment challenges and increasing workload, Carn to Coast Health Centres implemented Klinik online triage to help provide a more efficient service. Now the Cornish four-site practice can safely prioritise the needs of the 31,000 patients.

Priory Medical Group Case Study

Priory Medical Group shares how working with Klinik has enabled the PCN to improve the patient journey, boost staff satisfaction and adapt its workforce to known local needs. The system has helped measure the actual demand faced across the PCN’s nine sites.

Portland Medical Centre Study

Klinik is saving London’s Portland Medical Centre 3 to 4 GP sessions per week despite a growing patient list and huge demand for care. The innovative online triage and patient flow management technology is ‘the best thing since sliced bread’, says Flemming Jensen, Business Manager of Portland Medical Centre.

Haxby Group Case Study: Changing the face of general practice

Haxby Group reveals how Klinik is helping to change how general practice is meeting the needs of patients and professionals.

"Even our most ardent doubters have seen that demand can be successfully managed with online triage."
Martin Eades, Managing Partner
Priory Medical Group
"We understand our patients like never before. We now have data on the true demand we face in general practice. We have the tools to share that workload across the whole primary care network."
Martin Eades, Managing Partner
Priory Medical Group
"We are seeing 8,000 more patients compared to the same time last year thanks to Klinik, and doing so with the same level of resources."
Martin Eades, Managing Partner
Priory Medical Group
“The system enables our clinicians to review the information provided by patients, and provides a suggested priority level. This allows us to ensure we have the patient see the right person at the right time.”
Dr. Azhar Ali, Managing Partner
Forth Medical Group
"Together with Klinik, we have invested the energy to make it the way we want it to be, and now we are seeing the results.”
Dr Sarmad Zaidi
Roxbourne Medical Centre
“Now Klinik is in place, we don’t ever want to go back. Our reception staff feel less pressured to act according to patient expectations, and the whole team feels that they are better placed to deal with all incoming queries. We can breathe now.”
Trupti Chauhan, Operations Manager
Roxbourne Medical Centre
"Now we know what the demand is, we can see what changes need to be made, and we can manage expectation and optimise the journey for every patient. We can assign the right level of resources to deal with the enquiry, and use the most expensive resource where it’s most effective."
Trupti Chauhan, Operations Manager
Roxbourne Medical Centre
“Feedback from other practices using the system was very positive, especially how responsive the company was to people’s needs.”
Dr Michael Curran, GP partner
Church Street Medical Centre
“For any other practice I would say this would make a valuable addition to the practice. In the current environment, it is becoming essential to have an efficient triage service that can assess risk and identify urgency, so that care can be given according to need, rather than demand. I would strongly recommend this to any GP practice.”
Dr Michael Curran, GP partner
Church Street Medical Centre
"With the Klinik online consultation service, we can now get the correct patient to the correct point of care in the most efficient way."
Dr Thomas Patel-Campbell
Haxby Group