Why you should accept Out of Area Patients
The single biggest step you can make to unlock your practice growth is when you start to accept out of area patients. The nature of public transport links / working patterns means that some patients who seem far away can access your practice very easily and efficiently.
For example, taking patients from a 3 mile radius of your practice instead of 1 mile opens you up to 9x more potential people, assuming uniform distribution.
Your findings may inform future plans to open new branch sites as you truly expand your footprint.
However, out of area registration is not appropriate for all patients! For example, housebound patients, those with complex mental health conditions who need local referrals, and those generally less mobile. However, we can offer you flexibility to overcome this.
How can I do that?
With Bookable, we introduce new flexibility, letting you decide whether you take out-of-area patients and set a maximum catchment area. This is the maximum area you can safely service (e.g. you can’t refer into local services beyond this point). This area can be a circle radius or a customisable shape.
Also, note that Bookable currently only shows practices up to 5 miles from the patient, so registrations will still remain sensible!
Start taking out of area registrations
Check Find a GP to see if you are already accepting OOA registrations
If not, contact [email protected] to have your practice activated for out of area patients.
Tell us about your preference of maximum catchment area.
Start growing your list faster than ever before!
Patient-Facing Communication
Patients out of your normal catchment area but within your maximum catchment will be shown a warning before they register - using the same communication principles of clarity and transparency that Raj discussed in 003. How to make de-registration crystal clear.
And when expanded...
See full text
See full text
In case you wish to borrow our wording, here's the text!
Headline
We can still offer you appointments at the practice and on the phone, but we aren't able to offer you home visits and some local referrals.
Detail
NHS GP Practices have a defined catchment area they cover (e.g. if a home visit is needed, the doctor needs to be able to travel in a reasonable amount of time).
They are able to register patients outside of the area where it is appropriate to do so. You should register closer to your home if:
• You need home visits or regular attendance at the GP practice
• You need referral to or regular visits from local services, such as district nurses, social services, mental health services, or health visitors
If we feel that we cannot meet your health needs we may advise you register with a GP that can.
In addition, we'll also send patients the normal Out of Area communications and place the correct SNOMED code on their record.
824381000000105 | Registered patient lives outside practice area (finding)
Get in touch with us today to make sure your catchment area is set up at [email protected] or by booking a call!