To help GPs navigate the triage backlog and ensure patients are getting a response from their practice on their route to care in a timely manner, eConsult Health has launched its new AI triage functionality, the AI Navigator.
Built within eConsult’s Smart Inbox, which provides practices with a customisable and collaborative way to triage, manage and respond to patient needs from anywhere and at scale. The AI Navigator which is currently in the pilot stage will suggest three triage fields for each eConsult a practice receives: Team, for the most appropriate team member to respond to the patient, Urgency, to categorise the time frame for an initial response and Mode, the suggested mode of consultation with the patient (phone, face to face, SMS or video call).
The aim of the AI Navigator is to quickly and easily route the patient to the right healthcare professional to speed up the triage process, efficiently managing patient inquiries and ensuring patients receive the right care at the right time. This means that practices and PCNs can better utilise their resources at the top of their licences, share resources at scale through hub models and ultimately improve access to care for patients.
Dr. Murray Ellender, CEO and Co-Founder of eConsult said “We’re seeing that AI is being applied to nearly every element of our lives to support workers so they can focus on more value-add tasks. I can’t think of an industry more in need of technology that supports us in prioritising workflow. It’s essential if we’re to get on top of the triage backlog GPs are currently grappling with. I’m confident that our AI Navigator is going to shape the future of healthcare, supporting GPs to ensure the right patient is seen at the right time, and no patient’s request goes unanswered. It’s all about improving the quality of care we’re able to deliver”.
The technology has been designed in partnership with Deloitte (who supported eConsult and a group of clinicians in adding technical capabilities to a structured logic table built to decide the appropriate field suggestion based on a number of clinically designed variables) and is being independently evaluated by Swansea University as of late 2023.
