New regulations mean public sector organisations have a legal duty to make sure websites and apps meet accessibility requirements. The accessibility regulations aim to help make sure online public services are accessible to all users, including disabled people.
At Livi, we work with practices to develop online services that improve the digital journey for both practice staff and patients. We do this by providing a pre-built platform that allows you to give simple and clear digital access to patients. This can range from a single GP Practice to a whole ICS footprint.
Dillon Sykes, Commercial and Product Manager for Livi, discusses how he’s been helping GPs grow and embed digital relationships with patients through simple and clear practice websites.
Could you explain how Livi’s practice website service works?
When looking at some GP practice websites, we can, unfortunately, see lots of potential issues. Content is often written for offline consumption and poorly translated when viewed online, and accessibility issues make online transactions difficult if NHS Digital Service Manual standards are not met.
Our solution helps GP practices provide their patients with an accessible and easy to use website. By migrating away from ad-hoc designed websites to a digital first approach, we are capable of handling transactions that will give patients confidence to engage with online services and help reduce unnecessary demand on GP telephone lines.
What are the benefits to patients of having improved digital access?
The Livi GP Platform will provide every GP practice with a trusted, accessible NHS branded website allowing users to confidently engage with digital content. By reducing variation in user experience we can improve the patients journey for new and existing services.
Patients will find they can develop new relationships with the GP practice that no longer require early morning phone calls, trips to the Surgery or planned leave. By having an accessible website that is user focussed they will be able to maintain control of their information flow to fit around their own lifestyles.
And what about the benefits for practices?
For GP practices they no longer have to worry about complying with accessibility regulations as this is a key feature we update on their behalf.
Having moved patients towards accessing help and advice online they can free up those more traditional routes for the patients who still need to use them. This in turn reduces demand on the practice if information is available to access at any time of day E.g. Ability to submit a request for a repeat prescription doesn’t need an early morning phone call if you can do this online or accessing information about your new medication.
Digital maturity can allow GP practices to achieve equitable access across all modes of access both on and offline.
And can CCGs/ ICS benefit from this too?
Yes, the Livi GP Platform is available across regional footprints such as Clinical Commissioning Groups or Integrated Care Systems. We can provide an ecosystem of digital websites to suit your organisation needs. This can give organisations multi-site access across GP websites to post communications and alerts where necessary, standardising the messaging and impact for their population.
With improved analytics and data we can provide user behaviour which can be interpreted and used to design new and existing digital services.
What’s next for practice websites?
Our aim is to ensure that any user accessing NHS GP services has the ability to access a standardised GP practice website with a user focus, is intuitive to use, highly responsive and accessible to the many different users who chose to visit. The vision is for a website design which encourages a channel shift towards digital solutions and away from telephone contact.
