Orange and iPLATO sign an agreement to provide messaging solutions to the NHS

iPLATO today announce they have signed a significant agreement with Orange to jointly provide text messaging solutions to the National Health Service (NHS) that will lead to reduced patient waiting lists and easier communication with the NHS enabling improved access to healthcare.

(PRWEB) April 10, 2004 --Orange is one of the leading mobile communication providers to the NHS and iPLATOs vision and pioneering offering in mobile technologies for health make these two organisations perfectly suited to deliver innovation for the British healthcare services.

The companies will be jointly marketing Patient Care Messaging; a mobile messaging solution that sends automated text messages to patients' mobile phones (on any network), reminding them of their doctor's appointments with the aim of reducing the level of patient absenteeism and improving the quality of patient care. The patients can choose to respond to the reminder by confirming, rescheduling or cancelling the appointment and thereby supporting the efficiency of the healthcare services. The application has been integrated with several clinical and patient administration systems prevalent in the NHS to save valuable staff time and to limit overhead costs.

Patient Care Messaging will help enable NHS authorities with the objectives of the NHS National Programme for IT, which aims to modernise, standardise and improve the way that the NHS operates through the exploitation of information and communications technology. By means of integrated text messaging technology, Patient Care Messaging, can lead to reduced patient waiting lists, improved access to healthcare services and finally support the provision of healthcare services when and where required by the patients. Results of the current Patient Care Messaging pilots with three NHS Trusts in the London region will become available through independent research by the University College of London and the University of Wales Swansea. Feedback to date has indicated significant benefits and a rapid return on investment.

Patient Care Messaging is offered exclusively in association with Orange and distributed by iPLATO. For more information, please contact us on info@iplato.net or call 07815 874764.

About Orange
Orange, wirefree and any other Orange product or service referred to in this release are trademarks of Orange.

Orange UK provides high quality coverage to 99% of the UK population, and offers roaming to pay monthly customers on 288 networks in 128 countries and to pay as you go customers on 28 networks in 19 countries. At the end of December 2003, Orange UK had over 13.6 million active customers, more than any other UK network, making it the UKs number one.

In October 2003, Orange UK won the Mobile Choice Consumer Awards - voted for by readers of Mobile Choice magazine -- for Best Network Operator for the third year running, and for Best High Street Retailer.

The sixth annual J.D. Power and Associates UK Mobile Customer Satisfaction Study published in June 2003 showed that Orange ranks as the number one telephone service for customer satisfaction in the contract sector in the UK. J.D. Power and Associates 2002-2003 United Kingdom Mobile Customer Satisfaction Study based on a total 2,111 consumer responses. Orange was ranked number one in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, when the contract and prepay sectors were combined, and was ranked first in the contract sector in 2002 and 2003.

Information about Orange can be found on the Orange website at www.orange.co.uk and media information can be found at www.orange.com

About iPLATO
iPLATO is a results oriented consultancy and application developer specialising in mobile and wireless solutions for business. Our goal is to help our clients successfully deploy practical mobile solutions solving real world business issues.

The focal point of iPLATO's service delivery is our in-depth knowledge of integrating innovative wireless solutions into a companys existing strategy, business processes and daily operations. We think across organisational boundaries and create a collaborative work environment by matching our products and services to the company's needs and requirements. We deliver effective solutions by employing an operating model that provides fast economic results for our clients and builds a sustainable competitive lead in an ever challenging marketplace.

http://www.iplato.net/

For more information please contact:

iPLATO Ltd
Arjen Soetekouw -- Commercial Director
Canalot Studios
222 Kensal Road
London W10 5BN
United Kingdom
tel:     (+44)(781) 587 4764
fax:     (+44)(797) 435 4808
e-mail: Arjen.Soetekouw@iplato.net