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Existing paper-based processes for delivering the immunisations programme were out-of-date, expensive and inefficient. Just printing paper parent consent forms for flu vaccinations cost £26,000. Posting forms was too expensive creating the need for complicated workarounds to get them hand-delivered to the right schools which would pass them on to parents via children’s school bags. There were also safety concerns that some consent forms were going missing causing dropouts.

Each completed consent form received by the service centre had to be checked to ensure there were no issues and the data manually entered on the child’s record. Sometimes important details were missing creating the need for additional phone calls and delays. Once the vaccination was carried out, the requirement to update the child’s record by hand within 5 days invariably meant team members had to work additional hours.

At the same time, the demands placed upon the immunisations team were increasing with the requirement to extend vaccinations to more children. HCRG Care Group decided the heavy paper load had to be eliminated and replaced by a comprehensive, secure online system.

RIVIAM's eConsent immunisations solution

Schools now send parents a customised link to a HCRG Care Group branded website and eConsent form. Available 24/7, it’s a quick, convenient and safe way for parents to provide consent and share information or concerns using any modern device. As soon as the form has been completed, they receive a confirmation email with a unique reference code.

RIVIAM worked closely with the HCRG Care Group's team to brand and design the online form to their exact requirements. Helpful resources were also added about the vaccinations and FAQs.

The consents are instantly received in RIVIAM’s Workflow service enabling HCRG Care Group's service centre users to make a rapid assessment of needs. A dashboard presents all the consents received for a specific immunisation programme. These are automatically filtered into queues depending on the work which is required - those requiring triage, where consent has been declined, for duplicates or where progress simply requires a quick demographic check.

It’s easy to see each child’s consent plus additional comments and record any tasks such as calls to parents which are logged in a timeline. A consent can be progressed through the pathway and RIVIAM automatically updates the patient record with the consent information. The numbers of consents returned per school is clear, allowing HCRG Care Group to proactively contact schools where an increase in vaccination uptake is necessary.

Immunisations apps for nurses

RIVIAM enables clinics to be organised and run. For the last few years, HCRG Care Group used RIVIAM’s downloadable clinic spreadsheet but in autumn 2020 they were one of RIVIAM’s first customers to use the immunisations app. With the app, nurses have their clinic list and consent information about each child on their device. It’s really easy to use and works online or offline so clinics can be undertaken regardless of internet connection.

When the app is online, it automatically updates the vaccination outcomes directly in TPP SystmOne™, HCRG Care Group’s clinical system. RIVIAM also enables HCRG Care Group to report the data to the Child Health Information Service and supports reports for NHS England’s National Immunisation Vaccination System (NIVS).

Impact and benefits

HCRG Care Group chose RIVIAM because of its comprehensive immunisations solution including eConsent forms, workflow and clinic scheduling tools, a mobile app for nurses and secure interfacing with TPP SystmOne™ so the child’s record can be automatically updated.

Benefits to the HCRG Care Group immunisations team of using RIVIAM include:

• Increased patient satisfaction, parents find the system easy and quick to use.
• Integrated care, RIVIAM’s school secure file upload facility improved relationships with schools that can easily provide school lists.
• Increased clinical staff productivity, RIVIAM filters consent forms for review leading to a 90% reduction in clinical triage time.
• Increased admin staff productivity, the team doesn’t need to update the clinical system because RIVIAM does this automatically.
• Saved costs by removing printing and delivering paper consent forms to schools.
• Improved patient safety by flagging consents that required attention and reduced risks of missing consents and double vaccinations.
• Improved quality of care because nurses can spend more time with the child at the clinic rather than completing paperwork and lastminute consent forms.
• Encouraged vaccination uptake to meet service KPIs by providing greater transparency and the ability to monitor consent return rates.
• Supported better team working, improved morale and less pressure through easier care co-ordination and collaboration.
• Supported efficient clinical reporting to commissioners.

Increase the uptake of your immunisations service

If you would like to increase the uptake of your childhood vaccination service, contact us for a demo.

We'd love to show you how it works and the benefits of working with RIVIAM.