Frequently Asked Questions
The wording of the text message is constructed by KOOTH, will be consistent with the national advice and will include a link to KOOTH or QWELL. See below primary example of what the message looks like:
- You can now access free online counselling and self-help tools from NHS mental wellbeing service provider [Kooth/Qwell]. Get anonymous support at [link - Kooth/Qwell]
1. iPLATO Healthcare will send a text message to all consenting patients registered at practices across participating practices signposting patients to the KOOTH or Qwell Mental Health Wellbeing links.
2. Data will be retrieved via a secure connection to each practice’s clinical system.
The SMS will be a generic message sent on behalf of all practices therefore cannot be customised.
There is absolutely no charge for the service as this is a fully funded project. The practice does not incur any charge for text messaging or set up.
This service does not affect any of your current messaging services and runs independently to this.
Patients who are eligible from your practice who have consented to receiving SMS will receive a text message.
After the practice signs the consent form, iPLATO will be in touch regarding next steps. Some practices will require further set up, which takes roughly 5 minutes over the phone. Any other requirements will be clarified then.
Yes, installation is completed remotely. This will only apply to practices who do not have existing iPLATO services.
Yes, although we would encourage a discussion with the practice to understand the reasons for this and explore any support we could provide the practice to ensure continued participation.
As there is no “accreditation” of GDPR compliance, we can only advise that we have worked with our legal specialists, Data Protection Officer, and NHS England to ensure that iPLATO Healthcare are 100% GDPR compliant in line with legislation.
iPLATO meets all requirements for Data Protection and DS&P (Information Governance) and is trusted by customers across the UK to handle, securely 21.5 million clients.
Please see below the Data Sharing Agreements, Data Processing Agreement and Terms in place:
https://www.pcm.nhs.uk/pcm_tc.php
https://www.iplato.com/dpa.pdf
It is not necessary to collect express consent from clients to communicate with them. GDPR does not regulate communication with clients, instead it is about the legal basis to process an individual’s data and their rights. In the healthcare space, providers use their “public task” legal basis to process client data for the provision of healthcare. clients can then express their preferences not to be communicated via particular means and this is normally common practice in surgeries.
For more on how GDPR affects client messaging in the healthcare industry: https://mailchi.mp/8dda68c0a4ac/countdown-to-gdpr-4-things-you-need-to-know