Patient Opt-Out will replace Opt-In as the default policy for UK Florence customers from 1 October 2024, ending unnecessary confusion around the need to consent, and enabling patients to benefit from Florence’s clinical conversations from the moment they are put on Florence by their health provider.
With recent changes in guidelines around text messaging patients, and following feedback from NHS customers, including GP practices, pharmacies and acute hospitals, Generated Health is adopting the Opt-Out default for all its UK Florence Customers.
Under the previous Opt-in default, patients prescribed Florence by their health provider needed to first provide consent to receive texts from Florence, confusing patients who had already provided consent to receive texts, and delaying their engagement with Florence and the associated improvement in their health outcomes.
Improved Health Outcomes Within Months
Now with all patients automatically opted in, patients will start benefiting immediately from Florence’s clinical conversations and will simply be reminded that they can opt-out at any time by texting ‘stop’ should they wish to discontinue.
“With such a simple change, we unlock the benefits of Florence for many more patients. We regularly see patient engagement rates of 80% for customers already on Opt-Out,” said Ingolv Urnes, CEO of Generated Health. “Within three months average blood pressure is reduced 15% and HbA1c by one point, and better supporting patients to self-manage their chronic conditions could not come at a more crucial time for the NHS and patients as we head into the winter months.”
Text Messaging Recognised by Patients
The use of text messaging is supported by England NHS and similarly in Scotland and Wales, with patients getting used to being texted by the NHS over the last few years for everything from appointment bookings to communications about test results. Consent processes have been put in place governing the general use of text messaging in addition to ways of patients being able to opt out.
If a Practice or Clinical Team sends a text message about recommended treatment for the management of a specific health issue, this is defined as providing appropriate care for the patient.
GDPR Compliance Ensured
The use of default opt-out for Florence is compliant with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provided the Florence Customer has sought and obtained consent from the patient to use text messaging. It is the Florence Customer’s responsibility to ensure this.
Generated Health has duly updated its Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) to reflect the new process. Our DPIA is available upon request via Account Managers.
For reference see from 10 February 2023: https://transform.england.nhs.uk/information-governance/guidance/email-and-text-message-communications/
For more information visit www.generatedhealth.com
Contact:
John Griffiths john.griffiths@generatedhealth.com
Kylie Dentith kylie.dentith@generatedhealth.com
Dave Armitage dave.armitage@generatedhealth.com
