130,000 Ealing patients to receive health information by mobile phone

Ealing Primary Care Trust announced today that patients at 22 surgeries across the West London borough will soon receive GP appointment reminders and health information by text messages directly to their mobile phones. Prompted by requests from patients and feedback from two pilot projects in Perivale and Northolt, it is the largest deployment of integrated text messaging in British primary care to date.

Ealing PCT selected iPLATO Patient Care Messaging to offer this service to its multi-lingual and ethnically diverse population. iPLATO’s platform is approved by the NHS from a security and confidentiality standpoint and works in conjunction with the patient administration systems already used by GPs throughout the borough. The automated system reduces time spent contacting patients and frees up extra time for providing better services to patients. To access the service, which is free of charge, patients register their mobile phone numbers at their surgeries. Patients can unsubscribe from the service at any time. Among many benefits, text messaging prompts a better response to health promotion campaigns such as invitations to receive flu jabs or attend asthma clinics. Practice administrators welcome the reduction in time (and cost) spent sending letters or making phone calls.
 
In addition to improving the quality of patient services, integrated text messaging has increased efficiency for GP surgeries. At one of the pilot practices, the Hillview Surgery in Perivale, the system has led to a 30% drop in the number of patients who miss appointments. Imperial College in London estimates that text appointment reminders alone could save the NHS in England £240 million to £380 million.

Keith Martin, Service Development Manager at Ealing PCT, said: "Mobile patient services have proven that they are cost effective and scalable and are, therefore, the way forward in Ealing. We have a diverse population of 360,00 patients registered with GPs in the borough and many already use mobiles to run their daily lives. Ealing PCT chose iPLATO for its long experience in UK primary care. Patient Care Messaging is functional and secure. It improves service without adding extra work for healthcare staff and integrates seamlessly with existing systems used by GPs to book appointments and clinics.”

Tobias Alpsten, Managing Director of iPLATO, said: "Ealing Primary Care Trust’s drive to use technology as a means of improving patient care has clearly been illustrated by the ambitious rollout of Patient Care Messaging. In a cosmopolitan borough such as Ealing our technology, with the support of the PCT, has shown it has the ability to deliver radical improvements to cost efficiency and quality of care across patient demographics."

About Ealing PCT
Ealing Primary Care Trust provides and commissions health care in Ealing, including GP, dental, hospital, district nurse, health visitor, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, specialist and mental health services.

Ealing PCT media contact:
Fiona Harcombe
Telephone 020 8893 0129
email Fiona.harcombe@nhs.net

About iPLATO
iPLATO is a privately owned limited company founded in London in the autumn of 1999. Over the last four years the company has invested substantial resources towards overcoming the barriers to entry of the United Kingdom healthcare market and building a mobile healthcare business. In 2003, iPLATO was awarded a SMART Feasibility Grant by the Department of Trade & Industry to study the feasibility of a national implementation of a system to remind outpatients about scheduled appointments using text messaging technology.

Since completing the study, the company has built a promising business around its flagship service - Patient Care Messaging. The European Venture Contest, organised by the European Commission, recently recognised iPLATO as one of the top ten early stage technology ventures ready to “reshape their industry and to conquer the global market”. The company featured on the Red Herring Europe Top 200 of companies to watch in 2006.

Press contact:
San-Jay Moodley,
Sanjay.moodley@iplato.net
079 4758 2936
Suite 210 – Canalot Studios
222 Kensal Road
London W10 5BN
United Kingdom
www.iplato.net

Pictures available on request.