How UK Doctors Are Using AI to Transform Patient Care

InTouchNow.ai is now offering GP surgeries a dedicated software solution designed to modernise phone answering — reducing hold times and creating a smoother, more responsive experience for both patients and staff.

In the UK, many general practice (GP) surgery phone lines become overwhelmed in the mornings as patients compete to reach their medical practitioner for appointments. High-priority callers can be left waiting while routine enquiries occupy the lines — a systemic inefficiency that this technology directly addresses.

📞 The system uses voice-based AI to handle calls, schedule appointments, and assess patient needs — capable of managing many calls simultaneously, channelling callers with appointment requests, general advice, prescription requests, and clinical test results enquiries.

🧑 Founded on Decades of Medical Call Centre Experience

Founded by Daniel Park, InTouchNow.ai draws on his 30+ years of experience in medical call centres. The AI receptionist answers calls quickly and can automatically update integrated appointment systems. Practices can also record personalised voice messages to tailor the experience for their patients.

✅ Key Benefits for GP Practices

• 📈 Fewer missed calls — no patient left unheard
• 🧑 Reduced workload for reception staff
• 🕑 24/7 operation outside regular hours, reducing the need for overtime during peak demand
• 🌐 Supports over 200 languages, including dialect and accent options — ideal for multicultural inner-city communities
• 🔒 Full patient data security with practices retaining complete control

🔗 Software Integrations

The system integrates seamlessly with common GP software platforms including Surgery Connect, AWS, and Anima, automating administrative tasks while maintaining strict patient data governance. Several UK practices are already using InTouchNow.ai and have reported positive results in call handling and patient access.

🧠 AI Across the NHS: A Broader Trend

The under-funded National Health Service (NHS) in the UK has been quick to deploy AI-powered software to reduce operating costs — particularly targeting administrative overhead to funnel more resources into direct patient care.

One notable example is Smart Triage, an AI-powered system deployed in UK GP practices that triages patients during initial enquiries and, based on their responses, books them into the appropriate care pathway — whether a GP appointment, nurse consultation, or specialist referral.

📈 An evaluation of Smart Triage at a Surrey GP practice in 2024 showed the platform reduced average patient waiting time by 73%.

📚 Supporting Clinicians: iatroX

For clinicians — especially GPs — iatroX is a UK-based AI clinical reference platform that helps doctors retrieve evidence-based clinical guidance and summarise relevant literature and guidelines. Given that GPs are expected to assess the full range of patient needs, such platforms are invaluable when clinicians encounter uncommon symptoms outside their specialist knowledge.

📋 A 2025 evaluation found that a majority of surveyed users stated iatroX was useful (~86%) or reliable (~79%).

🏥 AI in NHS Practice: Use Cases

As documented by NHS England, AI platforms are actively used across the health service for tasks including:

• 🩹 Diagnosis support
• 💊 Monitoring of chronic disease
• 💊 Prescription advice
• 📋 General administration — freeing up clinicians' time for patient care

🔒 Of all sectors where sensitive data must be protected, medicine holds some of the highest standards of data governance. Deploying AI in healthcare demands a careful balance between operational effectiveness and the preservation of patient privacy.