Around 60,000 patients in Yorkshire have been given access to an online triage technology from Finnish-based Klinik Healthcare Solutions. 

Haxby Group, a healthcare provider which manages 11 GP surgeries in Hull and York, has become the first in the UK to adopt the Klinik Access online system, which offers patients an online assessment, using an artificial intelligence (AI) powered symptom checker.

Klinik’s algorithms can identify the primary health issue, recognise its urgency and direct the patient to the right point of care. 

Complex cases are sent directly to Haxby Group’s urgent care team so they can decide the urgency of the case and how it should be treated.

The system has initially been introduced to patients at two of Haxby Group’s York surgeries and the weekly average of online enquiries had risen from 0.1% at the start, to 24% in under two months of the new system going live.

WHY IT MATTERS 

Patients across the country are finding it increasingly difficult to get hold of their GP, according to an NHS England survey.

The Klinik online system aims to address this by allowing doctors to review their patients’ enquiries and call them back the same day with a plan of care, arranging a face-to-face review for those patients who need it. It also provides background information for healthcare professionals, allowing them to start any medical treatment as quickly as possible. 

THE LARGER CONTEXT 

Klinik Access online system is used by more than 400 healthcare centres, spanning 1.5 million users across in Finland. It is looking to expand its reach in the UK further with roll-outs planned in Lancashire, Hull and the South East in the UK.

Meanwhile, Swedish startup LIVI announced deals with the NHS last year, which allowed nearly two million patients in England to access its telemedicine app to book video consultations and access referrals and prescriptions.

GP consultations are also available to over 2.1 million people across the country through Push Doctor partnerships with the NHS.

ON THE RECORD 

Ben Wood, director of operations and sales for Klinik Healthcare Solutions UK, said: “It’s great to see our technology and service levels transferring safely and effectively from a Finnish healthcare environment to an NHS primary care setting. Haxby Group is leading the revolution as the NHS moves towards a digital-first primary care service.”

Dr Thomas Patel-Campbell, Haxby Group GP partner and chief clinical information officer, said: “Unlike other, more established companies, Klinik genuinely understood what does and doesn’t work when it comes to a working patient triage environment.”