Transforming primary care access and efficiency through Smart Triage: A case study

Summary

Rapid Health’s Smart Triage is an autonomous patient triaging system, aiming to improve access for patients and enable better demand and capacity management. Smart Triage was introduced at the Groves Medical Centre in October 2023 for all GP appointment requests for over 18s, and all admin requests. Health Innovation KSS commissioned Unity Insights to conduct an independent evaluation showing improvements in access and capacity management. Rapid Health now plans to expand to other practices and explore mental health applications.

Challenge

Primary care in England and Wales faces mounting pressure from rising demand and reduced GP capacity. The Groves Medical Group struggled with patient access, using a “first come first served” system that over-emphasised urgency over clinical need as a means to get an appointment. The practice sought to find a digital solution to improve patient access and eliminate the 8am appointment rush while meeting Delivery Plan standards.

Our approach

Health Innovation KSS has supported Rapid Health since 2022, helping to review their value proposition, product positioning and supporting with primary care practitioner connections.

Rapid Health’s Smart Triage tool is a UKCA-marked triaging system which autonomously triages, navigates, and instantly allocates and books patients into the correct appointment slots based on clinical need and staff capacity without practice staff intervention.

The Groves Medical Practice implemented Smart Triage in November 2023. Health Innovation KSS commissioned an independent evaluation by Unity Insights which ran from December 2023 to April 2024, measuring patient access, capacity management, and triage accuracy.

Following the evaluation, Health Innovation KSS has supported Rapid Health to spread the impact of their product at conferences, primary care workshops and NHSE events.

Of the support provided by Health Innovation KSS, Carmelo Insalaco, Co-Founder and CEO, Rapid Health said: “Health Innovation KSS played a pivotal role in supporting an independent evaluation of our system’s benefits. Their expertise and reputation as a neutral and highly respected organisation ensured that NHS stakeholders could trust the results, providing invaluable credibility and clarity to our outcomes.

He added: “Health Innovation KSS have been extremely helpful in structuring the evaluation to align with key NHS priorities and supporting us in spreading our innovation across their stakeholder network. Without their support, it would be extremely difficult for innovators like Rapid Health to fund an independent evaluation or deliver one that key stakeholders in the NHS would trust.”

Key findings

The independent evaluation found that the Smart Triage system enabled equitable patient access, delivered digital-first primary care, automated clinical triage and booking processes, and reduced waiting times for appointments.

• 91% of appointments were automatically booked and allocated without staff or clinical intervention.
• GPs spent more time with each patient supporting the ongoing move from 10 to 15-minute appointments.
• The practice had 47% fewer phone calls at peak hours with a 58% reduction in the maximum number of concurrent calls, all but eliminating the “8am rush”.
• Patients waiting times for pre-bookable appointments were reduced by a median of eight days, with a 3-day wait compared to a 11-days wait in the pre-implementation period.
• Same-day appointment requests fell from over 62% to 19%, significantly expanding the capacity for pre-bookable appointments.
• 82% of patient requests were initiated online compared to 12% in the pre-implementation period.

Health and care system impact

The Smart Triage tool positively impacted healthcare delivery. Staff reported ease of use and satisfaction, noting reduced phone queues and shorter wait times for appointments. The system relieved pressure on reception staff during peak hours and reduced same-day appointment demand. It enabled more sustainable working patterns and supported the transition to 15-minute GP appointments, aligning with British Medical Association guidelines. Additionally, it improved healthcare staff utilisation and reduced secondary care referrals while maintaining the urgent/routine care balance.

Dr Andrea Fensom, Partner, Groves Medical Centre, Surrey said: “Rapid Health has changed the way we work by optimising our resources and increasing patient access. Feedback shows that patients find it easy to use our online tool and that it’s convenient for them because it gives them multiple options for appointments (where safe to do so) and allows them to book with the most appropriate clinician for their problem.”

Patient impact

Smart Triage improved patient access to healthcare, cutting appointment waiting times. The system offered greater convenience to patients through digital communication. Patient care quality improved, evidenced by a 70% reduction in repeat visits within two weeks. Satisfaction with the overall experience of service provided at The Groves Medical Centre post-implementation of Smart Triage remained high at 89%, with patients benefiting from increased face-to-face appointments, which rose from 53% to 85%. Additionally, no significant clinical events occurred, highlighting the management of demand and capacity was appropriate.

Potential scalability

The Groves Medical Group is sharing its Smart Triage success through online demonstrations for other practices, conference presentations, knowledge sharing across Health Innovation Networks, and digital outreach via LinkedIn.

Rapid Health is supporting these efforts and is expanding the use of its Smart Triage tool in primary care. The company is also exploring how this tool can be applied to other areas, for instance, mental health waiting list triage.

Find out more

• Read the full evaluation here
• Read the evaluation infographic here
• Find out more about Rapid Health here