We’d like to take a moment to share some important information about EMMA, our AI Receptionist, and reassure all our patients about how the system supports your care.
EMMA has been introduced to help us manage enquiries more efficiently, reduce the time patients spend on the phone queuing and ensure that every patient request is handled promptly and safely.
We recognise that new systems can take time to become familiar with, and we sincerely appreciate your feedback. Your insights are instrumental in enabling us to collaborate with our system engineers to refine and enhance EMMA, ensuring it asks only relevant questions in a timelier manner and better serves the needs of our patients.
Here’s how EMMA works to support you:
- No more queuing on the phone. EMMA answers your call straight away.
- Every enquiry is reviewed by a human receptionist – EMMA helps gather your information, but nothing is dealt with automatically without human oversight.
- All medical enquiries are triaged by a GP – Your health concerns are always assessed by a qualified doctor, just as they were before.
- Nothing is missed – Every request submitted through EMMA is captured and actioned appropriately by our team.
To help EMMA work as effectively as possible for you, we recommend the following top tips:
- Speak clearly and at a steady pace. This helps ensure your information is understood correctly.
- Use simple, straightforward language. This improves understanding and speeds up the process.
- Avoid using speakerphone if possible. Background noise can make it harder for the system to hear you.
- Keep your enquiry concise and to the point Start with the main reason for your call.
- Do not talk over the assistant. Wait for it to finish speaking before you respond.
- Pause after speaking Give the system a moment to process your response before adding more.
- Answer the questions asked Providing direct answers helps the system guide you more efficiently.
- Provide key details when prompted. For example: full name, date of birth, or symptoms.
- Spell out important information if needed This is especially helpful for names, email addresses, or medications.
- Avoid background conversations or noise Try to be in a quiet environment when you call.
- Be patient if something needs repeating The system may ask you to clarify to ensure accuracy.
- Let the assistant guide the conversation It will ask questions in a specific order to best assist you.
We kindly ask for your patience and support during this time. By embracing this change and allowing us time to act on your feedback, you are helping us enhance the service for everyone.
Our goal is and always will be to provide safe, high-quality care for all our patients. EMMA is simply one of the tools helping us do that more efficiently while still maintaining the human touch you expect from our practice.
Thank you for your continued support and for being part of our surgery.