Case study

Saving time with video consultations

Despite many outpatient appointments returning to face-to-face since the start of the pandemic, 1 in 4 follow-up consultations continue to be delivered remotely. Learn how Accurx video consultations are used in Trusts to benefit healthcare professionals and their patients.

Video consultations could save...

£630,000

per trust annually by reducing DNA rates.

Over 4 million

patient days off every year.

55 million

travel miles nationally per year.

Save the average NHS Trust £630,000 per year by reducing DNA rates

Accurx can reduce the average DNA rate by 13% where 1 in 3 outpatient appointments are carried out using Accurx video consultations.¹

Accurx video consultations can save patients in England over £151 million per year in travel costs.²

The ease of attending a remote appointment with Accurx means that more vulnerable patients are also less likely to cancel.

Tackle health inequality by preventing over 2 million days off work for patients

There are definitely some patients who say: ‘I can’t afford the train fare to hospital.’ Having the video consultation option means I can still see those patients.

Suren, Paediatric Surgeon
Birmingham Children’s Hospital

Patients no longer have to set aside half of their day to attend each appointment. With Accurx, they can join a video consultation from anywhere.

Removing the need to take significant time off work and to travel eliminates financial barriers that prevent some patients from attending appointments.

An Accurx analysis shows that worker absences to attend elective care appointments cost the economy an estimated £249 million per year in lost earnings.^1,3

Save 232 million travel miles annually²

Road emissions in England

NHS-related road travel (by patients, visitors, staff and suppliers) totals 9.5 billion miles annually, and accounts for 14% of all emissions on roads in England. This carbon footprint is to be reduced to zero by 2045.⁴

At Birmingham Women and Children’s Hospital, paediatric surgeon Suren found that by moving just two consultants’ outpatient clinics online using Accurx video consultations up to 23,000 miles of patient travel is avoided annually, saving 5.1 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

Using Accurx video consultations, community practitioners can save significant travel miles as well as time – leaving more time for healthcare professionals to focus on their patients’ care.

I work across a very wide area, so [using Accurx] means I no longer drive hundreds of miles every single month.

Elizabeth, Psychotherapist
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Simple for patients

The number of patients not turning up to appointments has dropped for me because it does not entail them making an assertive effort to come.

Cheryl, Psychiatric Nurse
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Patients are more likely to join their consultation with Accurx video consultations because:

They receive a link in advance.
They can be contacted directly if they don’t join.

95% of patients were satisfied with their Accurx video consultation.

74% of patients don’t think they would have achieved a better outcome from a face-to-face appointment rather than a video appointment.

Easy and efficient for healthcare professionals

Easy to use and does not require tech-savviness.

At Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Cheryl loves that she can now easily arrange to speak to a patient and a health visitor at the same time, without the hassle of arranging two separate appointments.

It’s easy to work. Because of the self-help articles, it’s something I can do myself.