Background
NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is a regional healthcare organisation dedicated to improving health and care outcomes for the population of South Yorkshire.
By collaborating with local authorities, healthcare providers, and community organisations, NHS South Yorkshire ICB aims to create a cohesive, integrated healthcare system that meets the diverse needs of its communities.
Their focus areas include primary and secondary care integration, mental health services, population health management, and digital health innovations. Through strategic planning and resource allocation, NHS South Yorkshire ICB strives to enhance the quality of care, reduce health inequalities, and ensure sustainable healthcare services for the region’s residents.
The Need
NHS South Yorkshire ICB recognised a significant challenge in effectively contacting patients for various health management tasks. Current solutions often rely on a single contact method, such as SMS, letters, or phone calls, and treat all patients uniformly. For instance, a practice recalling patients for an Asthma review may send out a mass SMS with the same message template sent to all patients. While initial outreach is quick, it fails to consider individual patient preferences, and manual follow-up is time-consuming and inefficient.
To address these issues, NHS South Yorkshire ICB sought a strategic collaboration to develop an innovative solution. The goal was to create an automated patient contact system, named ‘SIMS,’ designed to personalise communication based on patient preferences and behaviours. This system aimed to optimise patient engagement, improve response rates, and ultimately enhance health outcomes by employing multiple communication channels, including SMS, NHSApp, WhatsApp, email, and postal letters. Additionally, SIMS needed to comply with NHS regulations, including DTAC and GDPR, and integrate seamlessly with NHS interfaces such as GP Connect.
The primary focus was on developing a system that could learn and adapt to the best methods for contacting each patient, automate recall processes, and provide comprehensive reporting for practice staff to monitor and manage patient interactions effectively.
The Solution
NHS South Yorkshire ICB collaborated with 6B to develop South Yorkshire Intelligent Messaging Service, an automated patient contact software designed to enhance patient engagement through personalised communication.
The project began with a discovery phase, where through a series of workshops and interviews 6B analysed user needs, existing systems, and desired functionalities. SIMS was designed and developed as a web-based application to facilitate multi-channel communication, allowing practices to contact patients via SMS, NHSApp, WhatsApp, email, and postal letters. The system utilises AI to determine the best contact method and time for each patient based on previous interactions, whilst also delivering an intuitive AI-driven user experience, ensuring personalised and effective communication.
Key features include AI natural language interpretation and generation utilising OpenAI GPT, template and list management, and auto-responses to streamline recall processes. SIMS enables two-way interaction, allowing patients to respond, book appointments, and receive reminders using natural language and through their preferred channels. It also supports patient preferences for contact methods, languages, and communication times, enhancing patient satisfaction and engagement.
For practice staff, SIMS offers robust functionalities such as creating multi-step processes with branching based on patient responses, integrating appointment booking with clinical systems via GP Connect, and providing comprehensive reporting and patient communication history. The system’s interoperability with primary clinical systems ensures seamless data exchange and compliance with NHS regulations, including DTAC, GDPR, and NHS Digital standards.
Hosted on NHS South Yorkshire’s Azure tenant, SIMS is designed for scalability and security, with the potential for SaaS components to enhance its functionality. This innovative solution aims to revolutionise patient contact management, improving efficiency and health outcomes.
The Impact
SIMS has recently gone live, and initial feedback from NHS South Yorkshire ICB indicates promising results.
Early adopters report improved efficiency in patient contact management and higher response rates. Practices appreciate the system’s ability to personalise communication and automate recall processes, significantly reducing administrative burdens. Patients benefit from receiving messages through their preferred channels and at convenient times, enhancing their engagement and satisfaction. The comprehensive reporting and seamless integration with clinical systems have enabled practices to monitor patient interactions effectively.
As SIMS continues to roll out, it is expected to significantly enhance patient care delivery, streamline operations, and contribute to better health outcomes across South Yorkshire and England.
“At NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, we are committed to delivering innovative, patient-centred solutions that directly address the evolving needs of our communities. Development of the South Yorkshire Intelligent Messaging Service (SIMS) in collaboration with 6B has been a powerful example of this commitment in action. We identified a clear need to improve how GP practices engage with patients—moving beyond one-size-fits-all communication methods to a more personalised, efficient, and responsive system.
6B responded with flexibility, technical skill, and a good understanding of the healthcare landscape. Their agile and collaborative approach enabled us to co-design a locally-developed solution that not only meets NHS regulatory standards but also integrates with existing clinical systems through NHS APIs.
By tailoring communication to individual patient preferences and behaviours, SIMS empowers practices to improve engagement, reduce administrative burden, and ultimately enhance health outcomes. This project demonstrates the value of investing in locally-driven digital innovation to meet the real-world needs of both GP surgeries and the patients they serve.”
– Peter Thompson, Head of Software Development, NHS South Yorkshire ICB