In the next two weeks, 200 High Street pharmacies in England will start vaccinating people from priority groups with the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Qudini is proud to be supporting a number of these pharmacies and healthcare providers during this challenging time with our appointment booking software – we are launching our first project this week.
The government’s plan to vaccinate 15 million people in the top four priority groups (care home residents and workers, NHS frontline staff, over-70s and those that are extremely clinically vulnerable) by mid-February is well underway, with approximately 2.6 million people in the UK having received their first dose already.
This ambitious target has led to the decision to allow large pharmacies with adequate refrigeration systems and enough space to allow for social distancing to start administering the vaccination.
Qudini is supporting a number of these pharmacies with the booking process by allowing customers to seamlessly schedule appointments, while allowing pharmacies to efficiently manage patient bookings in an effective and efficient manner.
Here are some of the customer journeys we’re working with pharmacies on for Covid-19 vaccines:
Appointment bookings for Covid-19 vaccinations
Boots in Halifax is one of the first chemists to deliver Covid-19 vaccinations. Source: BBC/Will Johnston
Patients can easily book appointments online to receive their Covid-19 vaccinations. Important questions can be asked during the booking process to help triage customers before they book, such as asking if they are currently experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, confirming their GP details or asking if they have any allergies.
Once the booking is complete, they will receive SMS and email reminders with details about their upcoming appointments to make sure they are updated and fully prepared.
This booking process results in a fair and highly efficient vaccine service that ensures the greatest patient safety alongside a positive experience with the pharmacy or healthcare provider.
See Tesco’s Flu Jab customer journey for a relevant example
Appointment booking check-in/virtual queue
Another customer journey many pharmacies are implementing is allowing patients to checkin when they arrive for their vaccine.
Patients with appointments booked by Qudini or a pre-existing booking system can easily checkin via their smartphone devices (or through a member of staff) when they arrive for their vaccination.
They can do this by clicking on a link sent to them by SMS and email when the booking was made or through a reminder message. Alternatively, pharmacies can have a sign outside stores with a QR code or SMS code that patients can easily scan or send. This alerts the clinic that the patient has arrived while enabling patients to wait outside or even in their cars until texted when it’s their turn for their vaccine.
An example of a sign for customers wanting to book appointments for vaccinations.
A sign showing how customers can enter a queue for their Covid-19 vaccination.
Using this experience, pharmacies can create a highly efficient vaccine clinic while ensuring that patients and employees reduce their risk of Covid-19 exposure.
For more info on how our appointment booking tool works inside pharmacies, and for relevant examples of the pharmacies we are working with to help deliver Covid-19 vaccines, get in touch on info@qudini.com
In the wake of the pandemic, you can also read more about the many use cases of our solutions like:
- Appointment booking for in-person service
- Footfall management
- Virtual appointments, webinars and events
- Contactless click and collect
- Virtual Queue management
- Task management
