Doctors using SMS to advise patients about swine flu

Camden GP surgeries are texting patients to deliver swine flu information

Swine Flu SMS's reduce calls to GP surgeries

As swine flu continues to affect UK citizens, Camden's GP surgeries are using text messaging to disseminate information about the new flu virus strain.

The system being used is the iPLATO patient care messaging service, originally funded by Camden Primary Care Trust (PCT) to be used across a range of healthcare areas.

The system allows targeting of advice and information to patient groups needing it most.

The surgeries text patients giving advice on what they should do if they suspect that they, or family members, might be showing swine flu symptoms.

Patients can text back a reply which arrives as an email to a predefined email address.

The messages are aimed at encouraging patients to phone a flu pandemic line, rather than call or drop into their surgery. Texts also provide signposts to a relevant web site for further swine flu-specific information. With GP users across more than 40 PCTs, iPLATO is playing a significant support role.

James Wigg practice IT manager Jeff Mitchell explained that using iPLATO to reach 8,500 patients "led to an immediate decrease in the volume of calls concerning swine flu and an increase in the hits on our website where we provide Q&A for the patient".

Rosslyn Hill practice senior administrator Sandra Anderson said that it was important to contact patients by all means possible when it comes to a pandemic, and "since so many of our patients have mobiles, text messaging is the best way to contact them quickly".