GPs use Oak products to boost service levels

November 27th, 2008 12:00am

'For us the products really does what is says on the tin', says practice manager...

Anyone who has ever visited their doctor’s surgery can see how difficult it must be to deal with hundreds of calls a day from patients, all with different needs. In a GP practice environment, it is vital to deal with every call and to get every bit of information correct each time. That’s why a combination of Oak call logging and call recording has provided the ideal solution for a Swansea practice.

The changing nature of general practice has created a need to explore new ways of enabling GPs and their staff to provide better and more efficient patient service for this busy practice. It has five doctors plus receptionists, practice nurses, health visitors and a district nursing team spread over two sites at The Grove Medical Centre (Uplands) and The Marina Surgery (Mannheim Quay),

In early 2008, the practice invested in Oak’s aiOffice call logging software, and a ProVoice DX voice recording system.

Mike O’Rourke, Practice Manager for the two surgeries said: ‘We had never used call logging software before. With aiOffice we can now look at the outgoing calls, the frequency of telephone numbers called and their associated costs for the first time. The reports show us everything we need to know at a glance.

'Especially important for us has been the ability to look at the number of incoming calls we receive, when the peak times are and how long we are involved on phone calls so that we can make sure we have the right staffing levels at the right times.'

The decision to add Oak recording alongside the call logger has revolutionised the practice’s call recording.

Mike O’Rourke continues: 'Although we had a voice recording system previously, this proved cumbersome and relied on recordings being transcribed. The Oak system has been networked, so key staff can now listen to calls at their desk as calls can be copied and listened to on any PC where the client software was installed. This has been of particular use to doctors and saves them a significant amount of time when reviewing telephone consultations.'

'An additional benefit for the practice is that staff can now listen to their own conversations, making call recording an effective tool for training. For us, Oak really does do what is says on the tin.'

Find out more about recordX Call Recording.

Find out more about report Call Logging.