We want to ensure that patients can access a range of care options at the point of seeking care. Accurx Navigator helps educate and inform patients on services and resources they can access directly without needing a GP appointment.
What is Accurx Navigator?
A new Patient Triage feature aimed at utilising nationally available services and resources to help manage patient demand. This is done by automatically signposting patients to alternative self-care and self-referral resources for their problem via the Patient Triage form, ensuring practices can spend their time and effort triaging patients who really need to be seen by the GP. Patients will always have the option to contact their GP, in addition to signposting options, ensuring they are in charge of decisions around their care and can access the care they need.
How does Accurx Navigator Work?
Our first version of Accurx Navigator focuses on tailored signposting to nationally available services in England. Patients will be signposted via the Patient Triage form for 12 health problems where they could commonly receive care from other services.
Patients will be signposted to national resources, including:
NHS.UK advice pages
Pharmacies
Mental health services
Self-referral resources (e.g. talking therapies)
Patients will always have the option to contact their GP practice, in addition to these other options.
Below is an example signposting page a patient would see if they were looking for care for a sore throat 👇
Which health problems will patients be signposted for?
The health problems Accurx will signpost for are 👇
Cough
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Sore throat
Back pain
Mental health problem
Sprain, strain or other minor injury
Impetigo
Shingles
Infected insect bite
Earache
Sinus infection (sinusitis)
Hay fever
Note: Patients under 16 years old will not see signposting.
What will this look like for patients?
Please see our support article for patients here. This will be linked on the page where they are requested to enter the verification code 👇
What will this look like for the organisation?
There will be no changes to the Patient Triage requests when they come into the Inbox. To learn more about how to manage patient triage requests, please click here.
How to tell patients about this new feature?
We’ve created three resources to help you inform your patients about this.
Patients are more likely to use these new options when they hear about them directly from you. Communication from you at the practice will help them feel confident seeking advice and treatment from alternative routes.
A template message to send to your patients. We recommend sending this as a bulk text message to all of your patients, or adapting it to send as an email.
Draft text message template - to send as a bulk message
Our online GP form may now suggest other NHS services where you might be able to get help or treatment more quickly. You can still choose to contact us.
_________________________________________________________________________
Draft email template - to send as bulk email
Dear patient,
Please note that we have updated our online GP request form (the form you use to contact us).
Now, when you submit an online request through our website or the NHS App for a health problem, you may be shown alternative NHS services and resources where you might be able to get help or treatment more quickly.
We’ve made this change to give you more ways to manage your health, but you can still always contact us.
A poster to display in your waiting room.
You can find the poster here.
Content to add to your practice website.
New: Our online GP request form has been updated
When you submit an online GP request through our website or the NHS App, you may be offered suggestions about other NHS services that can offer direct advice or treatment.
We have made this change to show you more options to help you manage your health, but you can always still choose to contact us.
FAQs
Does Accurx Navigator use AI?
Does Accurx Navigator use AI?
No, our Accurx Navigator solution is not currently powered by AI. It's an automated system that uses a robust keyword-matching process. We extensively validated and tested this from a clinical perspective before rolling out the feature.
How much does Accurx Navigator cost?
How much does Accurx Navigator cost?
Accurx Essential Navigator is available free of charge to Accurx Patient Triage users.
How do I turn on Accurx Navigator for my practice?
How do I turn on Accurx Navigator for my practice?
To enable Accurx Navigator for your practice, someone who is authorised to enter into a contract for your practice must accept the DPA and terms & conditions during the opt-in process.
Before you start using Accurx Navigator, your organisation must complete some important governance and compliance steps. Please take a look at our article here for information on how to do this.
How can I turn off Accurx Navigator for my practice?
How can I turn off Accurx Navigator for my practice?
Navigator will only be enabled once someone in your practice has accepted the updated DPA and T&Cs.
If signposting is enabled and you would like to discuss switching it off, please contact our User Support team at support@accurx.com or via the live chat.
Does Accurx Navigator send a referral to other services? e.g. Pharmacy First
Does Accurx Navigator send a referral to other services? e.g. Pharmacy First
No, Accurx Navigator doesn't submit a referral to other services.
If a patient views signposting and decides to access a different service rather than submit their request to the GP, this would have been completely patient-led. No referral from the practice has been made.
How will I be able to view reports on Navigator?
How will I be able to view reports on Navigator?
We are looking to introduce reporting on signposting to provide better visibility into how this is working for your practice. This will be coming later in 2025; we'll make sure to let you know as soon as this is available!
How can I switch off the inbox pop-up about the Navigator DPA? Why does it keep appearing?
How can I switch off the inbox pop-up about the Navigator DPA? Why does it keep appearing?
If you dismiss the pop-up, it will be dismissed for 24 hours. If you are not eligible to make decisions for your practice, we’d encourage you to speak to someone in the practice who is so that they can accept on behalf of the practice.
Once someone in the practice accepts the DPA, Navigator will be enabled, and the pop-ups will disappear for everyone in the practice.
What safety controls are in place?
What safety controls are in place?
The risk of patients seeing inappropriate or irrelevant signposting for their health problem is robustly mitigated by a range of controls that include the following:
Patients are not definitively diverted, but presented with some services that might be helpful to them based on the symptoms/condition they have described
Explanations of services/resources and what they are for, so patients are more empowered to make an informed decision
Tailored urgent safety-netting
Matching between keywords entered by patients and the surfacing of signposting has been clinically validated and is subject to ongoing review and updates as necessary.
The option for patients to contact their GP is always available
Defined exclusionary criteria to prevent signposting in certain circumstances, e.g. multiple health issue matches, patients <16 years old, or those that mention “pregnancy”, etc.
If you still have any questions or concerns, feel free to chat with us using the green message bubble in the bottom right-hand corner of this page. 👉