When faced with the prospect of adopting a new clinical system, many people are naturally hesitant. The more bad experiences they had with legacy systems in the past, the less willing they will be to start using a new system - particularly if they cannot understand the difference it will make to them.

Over time, we’ve seen that only a select few tech platforms are truly reducing clinician workloads whilst having a positive impact on care delivery. You know (and may have seen first hand) that Cinapsis is different, but how can you best communicate this to your colleagues? In this blog post, we explain common concerns that clinicians have and how we address them.

Video: Why our users like using Cinapsis 

I’m already asking for advice through the switchboard or e-RS, why do I have to learn to use another advice and guidance platform?

For primary care clinicians, seeking specialist advice and guidance regarding the best treatment plan for a patient can be incredibly time consuming. You may not even realise that there’s a better, quicker and safer way to do it.

You could be waiting for the hospital switchboard to find a registrar to take your call or you have to use a clunky system to share images and clinical information, which you then need to remember to check for a response. If the right advice is not available in a timely manner, the patient can end up having to wait months to be seen in an outpatient clinic unnecessarily or even need to be sent to the Emergency Department if things deteriorate.

Primary care clinicians who have access to Cinapsis can request instant advice and guidance directly from their phone or from a floating toolbar sitting on top of their core clinical system. GPs can use their phone to take photos securely, or even remotely request photos or video from a patient. They can also make voice and video calls.

Cinapsis also helps them to make quicker decisions about a patient’s care, by embedding signposting within specific pathways.

Dr Chin Whybrew, GP at The Stoke Road Surgery told us that “A major advantage of using Cinapsis over e-RS is that the response from the A&G request comes straight into your inbox. This means that nothing is missed - and this is very important for improving patient safety.”

Dr Tom Millard, Consultant Dermatologist, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "Cinapsis is a pleasure to use: it’s all in one and laid out really simply. I find it much quicker and simpler than the painful process of Advice and Guidance in e-RS."

Dr Thomas Kus, Consultant Paediatrician at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust added: “Personally, I feel that I can now spend more time talking about the problem at hand, instead of taking patient and caller details from the switchboard.”

What does the toolbar do?

Cinapsis integrates with EMIS Web, EMIS Community, SystmOne (with more system integrations under way) through a floating toolbar that can be accessed directly from within your consultation. The Cinapsis toolbar picks up the NHS number of the patient automatically, reducing room for error and saving time. What’s more, you can request advice, start a video consultation with the patient or request them to send photos, all with one click. Photos, requests and treatment plans are synced automatically in the patient record.

Dr Chin Whybrew, GP at The Stoke Road Surgery shared: "I love the Cinapsis toolbar - it makes it so quick and easy to access advice and guidance - it’s great!"

How could spending time offering remote advice and guidance actually save time for hospital consultants?

It may sound counterintuitive to think that answering advice and guidance requests can result in time savings - and too often clinicians are not able to see the tangible advantages of providing it. However, this is not the case with Cinapsis SmartReferrals.

Cinapsis’s secondary care users choose to access the platform because it gives them more control over their workflow, and because they can see a direct connection between informed care planning and shorter clinic waiting lists. Cinapsis allows them to collaborate with primary care teams so that patients are sent to the hospital only if necessary - and at less busy times.

With integration directly into e-RS, the specialist sends the referral directly to the Booking Team for them to release the case to e-RS directly. The GP and patient are then informed that a referral has been arranged - it doesn’t get simpler than that.

Dr William Porter, Consultant Dermatologist at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust tells us: “Cinapsis halves the time it takes to access advice and guidance  - it’s far, far easier to use, it’s modern, it’s user-friendly, it’s clear. All the case and patient details are on one page, meaning that you can do more with it, and see more patients.”

Does Cinapsis actually reduce waiting times?

The main goal of Cinapsis is to support clinicians to secure the right treatment for their patients in the most efficient way possible.

The technology creates a faster and more continuous dialogue between primary care practitioners and hospital-based consultants, speeding up diagnosis and enabling more cases to be treated in the community rather than in hospital settings. This reduces expected waiting times dramatically and allows the most clinically urgent patients to be prioritised. This is especially important for cancer services, where many suspected cases turn out to be benign and can be managed without a referral, simply with advice and guidance in the community.

Dr Paul Everden, Clinical Quality & Innovation Lead, North Norfolk Primary Care, explained: “This technology is exciting because it will start to break down the walls between primary and secondary care. It should allow consultants to review cases quickly and accurately, then work with the GP or practice nurse to recommend the best way forward. It doesn’t replace outpatient care – we will still see patients physically when it is most appropriate – but it enhances it and means we can act much faster in getting patients the treatment they need.”

Dr Chris Custard, Consultant in Acute Medicine, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust says: “As a Secondary Care Physician, Cinapsis is helping me to manage my workflow and that of my team...it is helping us to turn completely unscheduled care into partially scheduled care, and having fewer patients attend our Emergency Department means that the staff can now focus on the sickest people.”

Dr Mark Porter, GP Partner, tweeted: “Saw patient with suspicious skin lesion. Sent summary and 3 photos via app to dermatology team. Diagnosis and management back within 1 hour. Impressed.”

Is it safe to use Cinapsis on my personal mobile phone?

Cinapsis users can access the platform on their mobiles, meaning that they can respond to advice requests when and where it’s most convenient for them - rather than being tied to a desktop or needing to call the switchboard after being paged.

Importantly, no patient data or images are stored on the clinician’s device or personal cloud. All data held or transmitted via Cinapsis SmartReferrals is stored encrypted on the Health and Social Care Network (within the NHS) with end-to-end encryption in accordance with NHS guidelines.

"Cinapsis is not only quick, it also sorts out image compression, GDPR and helps with audit."
- Dr Alan Gwynn, GP Board Member, Gloucestershire CCG

Cinapsis is a commercial platform, how do you know what clinicians actually need?

Cinapsis SmartReferrals was built by an NHS surgeon based on his own experience working on the NHS frontline but also in close collaboration with clinicians in primary and secondary care. We have listened to frontline staff and understand the features that a communication platform needs to have in order to truly add value, and what common pitfalls need to be avoided at all costs.

What’s more, we are in close consultation with the clinicians who use Cinapsis every day, meaning that we’re working in the background in order to continuously refine and improve the platform to meet their needs - it’s an ongoing process.

If we're taking minor problems away from hospital trainees, how can we make sure they benefit from the learning?

Cinapsis has a strong educational element, as it re-establishes those vital connections between primary and secondary care colleagues that have been lost in the modern NHS. It facilitates the flow of expert knowledge within the system; junior and senior clinicians alike can learn from reviewing the responses they receive from consultants, and then use this experience and the knowledge gained in their future practice.

Video: Why our users like using Cinapsis 

Still have questions about how Cinapsis works to secure best outcomes for patients, staff and the NHS? Speak to a member of our team and let us arrange a call to answer your questions!