At George Eliot Hospital we are always looking at ways to help make life easier for our patients. That is why we offer Video Consultations as a way to help reduce the inconvenience of having to come to the hospital.
Whilst minimising contact between patients and clinicians, without compromising on the quality of care given; video consultations also saves on travel time and the associated cost.
To perform video consultations, we are using a secure video platform called AccuRx, that allows you to have a consultation from your home or own private space; and like a normal consultation, the same privacy rules apply.
Please Note: Video Consultations are for patients with pre-arranged appointment times only.
If the appointment is to be held on Video, the Service will contact you directly or this will be outlined in your appointment letter. AccuRx Video Consultation Invitations are sent via SMS text message from ‘NHS No Reply’. You will receive a text message when your clinician is ready to see you with a link to join the consultation.
In order to facilitate this you will need to have access to a charged up smartphone or a computer / laptop with a webcam, along with a good internet connection.
It is recommended that you use WIFI connection where possible.
If unable to use WIFI, on average an AccuRx consultation would use 5-8MB of data per minute – AccuRx have configured this to be on ‘low data mode’ by default. In comparison to other Video Tools you may be familiar with, it is a little more than FaceTime which used about 3MB per minute but a lot less than Zoom which used 13.5MB to 40MB.
Starting the Video Call on AccuRx:
- When your clinician is ready to see you and you're ready to start your video consultation, we’ll send you an SMS Text Message with a link in it. The message will come from NHS-NoReply .
- By default, Video Consultation Invitations will be sent via text message. It is possible to receive AccuRx Video Consultations via email but you will need to speak to the Service Booking Team to arrange this.
- If you are using a smartphone, click the link in the text message and AccuRx will open in your browser.
- You will have to run through some technical checks before joining to make sure your microphone and camera work.
- If you would prefer to have your consultation on a Desktop, Laptop, Tablet or iPad which has a webcam and microphone, please type the link into your browser.
- AccuRx is compatible with Safari on iOS, Chrome on Android, Chrome or Firefox on desktop.
- Please note, this does not work with Internet Explorer
- Should you experience any technical issues during your Video Call, please let your clinician know as soon as possible and the Clinician may revert to a Telephone Call.
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Once you have followed the process to join your appointment your clinician will be waiting for you in the virtual consultation room
Following your appointment
The clinician will discuss the options for a further appointment (if required). This may be at the hospital or again on video. The next appointment letter will be sent out to you and we will also send a letter with the outcome of the consultation to you and your GP.
