Free intuitive online GP appointment system launched

Vensa Health launches free intuitive online GP appointment system to enable 24/7 booking

AUCKLAND, NZ. November 10, 2016 – Vensa Health, New Zealand’s leading Mobile Health solutions company, is offering General Practices a free online appointment booking system to allow patients to book appointments with their doctor or nurse anytime via web or mobile. The service is the first made available on the new Vensa.com platform, to improve healthcare access and service delivery, launched at an event in Auckland today.

Vensa Health Chief Executive Ahmad Jubbawey says the new Vensa.com platform is their most significant launch since the company first released TXT2Remind almost a decade ago, now used by 70% of GP practices in the country.

“Our experience in creating technology interfaces between practices and patients has allowed us to develop a new platform to help patients access healthcare and manage their health in a simpler and more human way, and to deliver efficiency gains for medical practices as they go about their important work.

“We know that usability and simplicity of integration into existing clinical practice delivers the most value. Our online booking system, our first service on Vensa.com, expands options in health care and puts patients back in charge. This is the first small step in what will be a transformational journey for the health system and GP clients and their patients.”

Vensa Health’s appointment booking system is available free to all GP practices in New Zealand via Vensa.com, regardless of whether they are an existing customer. A practice profile is created on Vensa.com, so practices don’t need a website to use the system. Patients can select their preferred doctor or nurse online and see which appointments are available in real time 24/7 and then book via the secure website.

Jubbawey says they’ve been focused on making the set-up really simple, to encourage all GP practices in New Zealand to use the service. “Once the practice profile is completed we simply switch on the online booking functionality for existing customers.”

Mission Bay Doctors was one of the GP practices in the beta testing programme. Medical Director Dr Jamie Shepherd, who has also acted as a Clinical Advisor to Vensa Health says, “Patients find it brilliant and easy to use, within an hour of linking Vensa.com to our website we had our first booking. They comment how wonderful it is to be able to book for themselves and their family at any time day or night. They also appreciate being able to visualise available appointments at a time that suits them, quickly and simply.”

Jubbawey says the experience and knowledge Vensa Health has built up in mobile health was a solid standpoint from which to develop Vensa.com. “We started by reimagining how people could interact more easily and quickly with their health provider, and how we could help health providers save time as they go about their daily activities. Importantly, by doing this we’re helping improve health outcomes.”

Taking a people rather than a technology focus was key to helping solve real world problems according to Jubbawey. “We know that technology solutions only deliver results if they’re easy to use and make things significantly better for users. We know practices are time poor so we take pressure off their workforce by removing time consuming processes around things like immunisations and recalls; and patients who are also busy, can for example, go online and book appointments at their convenience.”

The new Vensa.com platform, an 18 month R&D project for the company, was supported in part by an R&D Growth Grant from Callaghan Innovation.

Vensa Health has already demonstrated the power of their mobile health solutions with TXT2Remind, which the majority of GP practices in the country use. Each month over 800,000 messages are delivered via their platform and services, to over 3 million Kiwis a year.

Jubbawey says, “Healthcare budgets around the world are under increasing pressure. Our vision is to better connect practices with their community to improve our family and friends and communities wellbeing. A recent study showed that in a year 27% of Kiwis had an unmet need in accessing general practice, due to either inability to book an appointment at the right time or cost. Some of these people ended up visiting hospital emergency departments unnecessarily. It’s the simple human solutions that can help make all the difference.”

GP practices can view the launch video and sign up for the free online appointment booking system by visiting Vensa.com.

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