Accurx has dominated primary care technology for years, offering messaging, self-booking and patient triage. But now there's a new player on the block, and it is time to take a look.
The introduction of Accurx to NHS GPs was a game changer for patient communication. Accurx's green toolbar allowed users of EMIS, and then more recently TPP, to send simple communications to their patients by SMS or Email. The toolbar extracts the selected patient from the clinical record, and so allows for fast communication - but the simple questionnaires (Floreys), 2-way replies and recently the self-booking links, have all been helpful for primary care providers.
So what's the issue? Well for starters, Accurx has annoyed a lot of commissioners and now practices with repeated price increases. First they gave away the product for free, using their venture capital funding to cover millions of pounds of SMS fragments. Then they started billing ICBs for both fragments and license fees, initially at around 25p per patient, but now at over £1 per patient. And in addition to cost - there's a growing sense that Accurx are now more interested in developing for primary care than secondary care.
Trouble is that few alternatives exist...until now. This blog compares Hero Health and Accurx, highlighting the differences in pricing, functionality, and overall value to help practices make an informed decision. Let us caveat by saying: you are reading a blog on the Hero website, so you probably know what answer we'll give you, but all the same we hope this provides some insights.
When comparing the products, it is worth noting that there are some features that both Hero and Accurx perform well. We're not ashamed to acknowledge that Accurx were first to market with patient messaging, and they've built a great tool that has provided inspiration to us and others. But then conversely, when it comes to scheduling, that was Hero's domain first, and Accurx's self-booking functionality is still catching up (cross-org booking links anyone?). eConsult were first to triage, and both Hero and Accurx have had the benefit of being later to market.
In summary, here's a list of features you'll find in both tools:
So lots of overlap, and lots of shared functionality.
Let's be honest, you weren't here to read about the similarities were you? So what are the differences? Here's a couple of areas that Hero really stands apart from Accurx:
Then there is also the practical consideration of cost. The Hero Health platform is 45p per patient for everything - messaging, batch, triage and booking. Accurx's full product offering is now over £1 per patient, and self-booking alone is 30p per patient. In addition, SMS fragments are marginally cheaper through Hero than Accurx.
Here's a table showing you the differences:
Accurx's patient triage is simple for patients, but runs the risk of giving you a vast load of inbound queries to deal with every day. Hero's care navigation triage is designed to direct patients to appropriate services before they submit an online consultation, thereby reducing your direct administrative workload by 30%.
Accurx don't currently support batch messaging by email with self-booking links. This means, if you want to use Accurx to send batch messages with the aim of getting patient bookings into your diary, you'll need to incur SMS fees. Both platforms support patient communication, but Hero Health’s batch messaging capabilities offer unique benefits.
In today’s collaborative healthcare environment with practices and PCNs working closely together, cross-organisational booking functionality is becoming essential.
One of the most significant differences between Hero Health and Accurx is cost. Hero Health is, on average, 35% cheaper than Accurx, making it an appealing option for practices aiming to maximize efficiency without inflating expenses.
Hero, duh! Hero Health’s lower price, enhanced configurability, and support for cross-organisational workflows provide a more flexible, affordable solution for practices seeking to improve patient access and streamline internal operations.
For more information on Hero Health’s features and how it can support your practice, get in touch via the Get started button in the top right.
