The Island MARS Managed Appointment Reminder Service™delivers a very effective and secure application, which is designed to be of significant benefit in reducing costs to the National Health Service and many other Public and business sectors related to appointment non attendance. MARS was developed by Island Communications in close co-operation with the NHS and offers many additional benefits through its secure Management System and comprehensive reports.

The Island M.A.R.S application is a fully managed two-way solution, which automatically sends a Text Message reminder to all Patients or Customers nominated Mobile phone at an agreed date ahead of the forthcoming appointment. On receipt of the Text reminder, Patients or Customers are able to note the reminder and they then have the opportunity to reply back should they be unable to attend their appointment.

M.A.R.S captures the inbound Patient responses and makes this information immediately available through Secure access by User name and password allowing key administrators to take appropriate action in the  effective management of their department appointments.

When designing the M.A.R.S application, Island worked closely with several NHS bodies to build a solution that offered the widest level of capability that would serve the NHS for years to come. M.A.R.S is a fully managed solution and this approach is deliberately favoured as the most effective means of Appointment Reminder Management. M.A.R.S is considered by many as a leading Managed Appointment Reminder Service in the UK.

Added Value and eHealth possibilities 

Whilst the M.A.R.S. Service serves as a useful reminder on Patient appointments, We offer so much more. There is added value provided where we encourage a patient response and this can give good advanced feedback to the NHS or Customer on likely appointment attendance levels.  A returned “No”- I cannot attend response is also helpful feedback as it gives early awareness of a definite cancellation. As a provided option, Island can arrange a follow up message to be sent with a specified phone number that the patient can call to re-book another new appointment. Some Patients may take advantage of the MARS system to send other advance information such as: "YES I WILL ATTEND BUT NEED WHEEL CHAIR AT FRONT DOOR PLEASE"

The patient or customer feedback provides the ability to fill what would have otherwise been an empty slot in the daily work routine. The improved efficiency that we aim to deliver helps to ensure the smooth running of what can be very busy departments. 

Island Communications have built a high level of flexibility on what is a well tried and tested application. We are able to offer significant value through enhancement and integration to may areas for additional benefit.

E.health - Patient Text Information within NHS

E.Health possibilities are vast in consideration of Text based information exchange and Island Communications specialise in such bespoke applications. Please call us to discuss.

Cable & Wireless partnership - No Need to go to Tender

MARS is provided to the NHS via a Cable & Wireless Catalist Specialist Solutions "framework" contract, which avoids organisations having to Tender for the service.

Q's & A's

MARS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS CLICK HERE

Example screen shots of the M.A.R.S. Management system

The above table shows Organisation level (Hospitals) this is further broken down to individual Department level. "Reminders sent" are those shown daily weekly Monthly or on any specified date range. Cannot attend are responses received with a definite NO "I cannot attend response. Other responses are a variety of messages ranging from reason for Non-Attendance, Confirmation of attendance or other relevant information. The tables may be drilled down to individual appointment levels showing each individual appointment and response received.

The above example shows results by Hospital Department level. The cannot attend and Other patient responses are able to be independently checked. This would normally be done each day by those with rights of access to the MARS system. Those notifying non-attendance can be contacted to re-arrange appointments or MARS can re-issue as required.

The above is just a small section of many reports available on the M.A.R.S system.

MARS Opt In Service

The Island Opt in Service is a designed to allow NHS Patients the opprtunity to register for the MARS Application. This works well for Trusts and Health Boards that wish their Patients to opt in and an added benefit is that the Patients Mobile number is captured so that it may be added to the PAS system by administrators.

How it works:

Patients send a Text to a short code supplying a Key code word followed by their name and Post Code. The message looks like this:

KEY CODE - (TRUST TITLE) eg. ABCDEF Joihn Smith AB224JB The "ABCDEF" Code is a key identifier to confirm the NHS Trust or Health Board area that the patient belongs to. The Opt-in service can be set up very quickly.                                                       

"Island's M.A.R.S Service can help reduce stress within the NHS"  

M.A.R.S can help in stressful environments by taking away the strain of over working in already stretched departments. The Reminder Service also helps to reduce the need to overbook appointments to cover cancellations and can deliver a less stressful environment for Patients, Customers and Staff.

We provide all of our applications with comprehensive statistics and management reports to prove the effectiveness of the application. Training and support is also available on all applications.

The whole MARS approach is very powerful with no set up costs and no Management fees to pay. Running costs are also kept very low to ensure the instant impact on both effectiveness and potential savings. A business case to prove the effectiveness of the application is built in to the M.A.R.S. Management System. On larger scale applications, at Trust level, Reminder rates may enjoy discount attractions.

Island's Managed Appointment Reminder Service must not be compared with other unsupported and unmanaged applications that are focussed purely on Mass Text Messaging often with low success rates on Message Delivery sometimes over foreign networks with no statistics available to prove effectiveness.

Reports and Marketing

As a fully managed system, M.A.R.S provides IT and Administrator support. Account Management, itemised statistics with detailed reports and training for all users at Customer premises is possible. Marketing support is also provided with Patient awareness posters for all Patient waiting areas.

Early Adoption

Some customers can be hesitant in early adoption of MARS due to concerns over a potentially low level of Patient Mobile numbers held. As many have proved, Hospitals and Trusts can quickly grow from modest penetration levels of as low as 3% to  40% or more in just a few weeks. Island are always happy to help Trusts and Hospitals and specialist help is provided on going to IT Teams to help in gathering the required data.

Island supply the M.A.R.S system to the NHS and a wide range of other markets in the UK.

As a "Managed Service" The Island MARS application is fully supported with reports provided to show the effectiveness of the system.

MARS offers many benefits

• reduction in costs associated with cancellations or no shows (DNA - Did not attend)
• encourages attendance at appointments maximising revenue (PBR - Payment by result)
• helps to manage and reduce patient waiting lists through re-booking empty slots
• Improves department efficiency and appointment process
• Reduces the need for overbooking which can be both stressful and costly
• Has integration possibilities beyond initial appointment management
• Improves Patient / NHS relations
• Is well received by Patients who like the system
• No Set up fees - No Management fees - No software or licence costs required.

  MARS reminder service is available Europe wide. Please contact us to discuss.

Community Broadcast System

Island offer Community Broadcast facilities to compliment many of its services such as Environment Monitoring. This service can be provided quickly to update local communities with key information following a natural disaster such as Flooding, Landslide or any other emergency situation. The Community broadcast may benefit rural communities that reside outwith the main Environment Agency Flood warning catchment areas.

Island Communications is commited to co-operate and indeed support Environment Agencies with captured Data where this may be beneficial in the wider picture of effective flood risk monitoring and management.

Island MARS Tackling DNA

Island Managed Appointment Reminder service is a significant tool designed to address the issue of DNA "Did not attend" medical appointments in the UK.

"This is a difficult issue that is costing the NHS well over £ 500 Millon pounds per year. "It is estimated that there are almost 9 Million missed appointments across the NHS per year." (Source Institute of Health Care Management).

For further information contact:  sales@islandcommunications.co.uk

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31 Million bill for GPS' No-Show Patients

"Almost 1.5 Million GP appointments are missed in Scotland every year, a study has revealed. with the cost of a GP appointment estimated at £21 that means the no shows cost the NHS in Scotland £31.5 million annually. Latest figures show 700,000 appointments with practice nurses are also unattended. Experts estimate this costs the health service at least £5 million a year And 96 per cent of GP practices in Scotland say missed appointments are one of the biggest waste of resources.

Dr Dean Marshall, chairman of the British Medical Association's Scottish GP committee, said: "GP practices are doing all they can to improve access for patients, but still a high volume of appointments are being missed.

"These millions of forgotten appointments lead to unavoidable inefficiencies in GP services and wasted opportunities. They also deny other patients the opportunity to see their GP."

"These 1.5 million missed appointments are a terrible waste of scarce NHS resources." (Source: Natalie Walker article Daily Record 23 August 2007)

MARS Managed Appointment Reminder Service™

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - Click Here