EMMA's Capabilities and Call Handling

Purpose of This Article

This article explains how EMMA manages incoming calls from the moment a patient dials your surgery. It covers call routing, patient identification, language support, and how EMMA handles specific scenarios including mental health calls, parental calls, poor audio quality, and patients who refuse to use digital services.

How EMMA Identifies Callers

EMMA performs a live PDS (Personal Demographics Service) lookup on every call. This allows EMMA to verify whether a caller is registered at your surgery in real time.

EMMA does not rely on a patient list to identify callers after going live. The patient list upload is a separate feature used to speed up initial caller recognition. PDS validation always runs regardless.

Where a patient's phone number or email address is held in PDS, EMMA will include this contact information in the submitted request automatically. EMMA does not ask patients for their email address during a call.

Call Routing and Configuration

Routing calls to specific departments EMMA can identify the purpose of a call early and redirect to the appropriate team. For example, prescription queries can be routed directly to the prescription line rather than through reception. Department routing can be configured and submitted via an Excel document during onboarding.

Routing patients over a certain age EMMA can be configured to identify patients above a specified age and route them directly to reception, either based on the patient stating their age during the call or via their patient record.

Routing calls from healthcare professionals EMMA can identify when a caller is a healthcare professional, such as a care home staff member, community nurse, or pharmacist, and route them directly to reception. EMMA can be configured to ask whether the caller is a healthcare professional early in the call. The exact mechanism can be tailored to your surgery's needs.

Requesting a human receptionist The default number of times a patient can request to speak to a receptionist before being transferred is approximately three. This is configurable and can be set to one request for quicker access to reception, or adjusted depending on your surgery's preference.

Sales and marketing calls By default, EMMA transfers sales and marketing calls to reception.

Language Support

EMMA supports a wide range of languages, including:

English, Latvian, Lithuanian, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Tamil, Somali, Gujarati, Bengali, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Hindi, Turkish, Polish, Romanian, French, Italian, and Russian.

Patient requests are always processed and delivered to your team in English, regardless of the language used during the call.

Customising EMMA's Greeting

EMMA's opening message can be fully personalised. Some surgeries have recorded a short introduction from a GP or practice manager welcoming patients and explaining EMMA's role. This has been shown to significantly improve patient engagement from the very first call.

A guide to custom intro messages can be provided on request. Contact your QuantumLoopAi account manager to get this set up.

Handling Specific Patient Scenarios

Unregistered patients EMMA must handle all incoming calls, including those from patients not registered at your surgery. If an unregistered patient calls, EMMA can capture information from someone wishing to register and flag it as an administrative request, or signpost them to a registration link.

Patients chasing an existing request EMMA cannot update existing requests. At the start of every call, EMMA advises patients not to submit a duplicate request if they have already submitted one in the last 24 hours, and sets expectations around response times.

Patients who refuse to use digital services EMMA will attempt to redirect patients to the relevant app or online service. If a patient continues to refuse, the call can be forwarded to the surgery. Around 10 to 15% of patients typically fall into this category.

Parental and proxy calls EMMA can handle calls made by parents or carers on behalf of patients, though this requires specific configuration. EMMA can be set up with practice-specific rules around proxy calls and age-specific handling. Surgeries should advise QuantumLoopAi of their preferences during onboarding.

Mental health calls and calls involving suicidal thoughts All mental health calls and any calls involving suicidal thoughts are automatically transferred to reception. EMMA does not attempt to handle these calls independently.

Appointment cancellations and rebooking EMMA can redirect patients to the NHS app to self-manage appointments. For same-day cancellations where time is critical, the call can be transferred directly to the surgery. EMMA cannot book GP appointments directly.

Poor Audio Quality

Where audio quality is poor, EMMA's first approach is to use SOPHIA, the text message fallback. EMMA detects the poor audio and sends the patient a text message link to continue their conversation in writing. If that is not suitable, the call can alternatively be transferred to reception.

Prescription Calls

EMMA should not be used to take prescription requests. There are significant risks associated with capturing prescription information over the phone, including mishearing medication names, incorrect dosages, and patient error.

Prescription requests should be directed to the NHS app wherever possible. EMMA can be configured to signpost patients accordingly. If your surgery accepts prescription-related calls during specific hours, you can discuss details with us, and we will work towards a solution.

Technical Compatibility

Softphone systems EMMA's call transfer functionality is compatible with softphone systems. It should work automatically with your existing setup. If any configuration is needed, the QuantumLoopAi technical team can resolve this during the bedding-in period.

Self-referral and external forms EMMA can be configured to direct patients to self-referral links or online forms rather than capturing the request over the phone. Surgeries should provide relevant links during onboarding so these can be built into EMMA's configuration accurately.

Clinical system integrations Integration capability varies by system. Full integration is available or in development for several platforms including Accurx, EMIS, TPP, and System Connect. Where direct integration is not yet available, requests can be submitted by email as an alternative. Confirm your clinical system during onboarding so the appropriate approach can be set up.

Troubleshooting

A patient is being routed to the wrong department. Contact the QuantumLoopAi team with details of the call. Routing configuration can be reviewed and updated promptly.

EMMA is not recognising a patient's language. Contact the QuantumLoopAi support team. EMMA supports a wide range of languages and the configuration can be checked.

A patient was not transferred to reception when they requested it. Check the dashboard transcript for the call. If EMMA did not transfer as expected, contact the QuantumLoopAi team with the call details so we can investigate.

A mental health call was not transferred to reception. Contact the QuantumLoopAi team immediately with the call details. All mental health calls should be automatically transferred and we will investigate any instance where this did not happen.

FAQs

Can EMMA handle calls for more than one site or phone number? Yes. If your surgery operates across multiple sites or has more than one patient-facing number, EMMA can be configured accordingly. Discuss your setup with your QuantumLoopAi account manager during onboarding.

Will EMMA read back patient details during a call? Yes. EMMA reads back information such as phone numbers, postcodes, and names clearly and at a measured pace so patients can confirm their details are correct.

Can we change EMMA's configuration after go-live? Yes. Routing preferences, call windows, opening hours, and other settings can all be updated after go-live. Contact the QuantumLoopAi team to request changes.

What if a patient does not have a mobile phone and cannot use the text fallback? If SOPHIA's text message fallback is not suitable, the call can be transferred directly to reception instead.

Does EMMA make any clinical decisions? No. EMMA captures information and routes calls. All clinical decisions are made by your team. EMMA does not triage, diagnose, or provide clinical advice.