Frequently Asked Questions

Doc Abode is a UK registered company, wholly owned by a small group of individual shareholders. Funding obtained to build the software was secured via a variety of Government backed grants, such as the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Innovation Fund delivered by InnovateUK.

The original proof of concept was demonstrated in 2016. Since then Doc Abode has been exclusively supporting a range of NHS organisations such as out-of-hours providers, primary care organisations and community trusts.

Case studies are presented on the website and additional testimonials are available upon request.

All of our modules offer a budgetary saving over comparable systems where they exist. When commissioned together this saving is compounded. In some cases, for example our same-day demand management module, comparison is not possible as these features are unique to Doc Abode.

Our pricing is available upon request and we can discuss the most appropriate modules for your organisation.

Doc Abode modules support all staff working within NHS providers including non-clinical staff. This includes our e-rostering and HR modules. NHS providers using the same day demand management capability typically utilise this to call upon a clinical workforce at times of escalation.

Doc Abode is only available to healthcare providers who offer services to NHS patients and NOT for private or fee paying patients. Doc Abode is NOT a patient facing service and patients are unable to directly summon a clinician to them. There is no Doc Abode app for patients to download. Patients can only access Doc Abode clinicians through using the national NHS 111 or other locally agreed direct channels such as the GP out-of-hours service. Clinicians are strictly not allowed to ask for or accept any additional fee for services when seeing patients through Doc Abode.

When deciding to sign up for Doc Abode clinicians will be signing up to our Terms & Conditions which stipulates responsibilities. These are provided at registration.

As Doc Abode is not a locum agency we are not directly employing any of the clinical staff who use the platform but checks will be made against CQC standard requirements by the NHS healthcare provider responsible.

We are always keen to update our FAQs so please feel free to ask anything which hasn’t already been covered here (or not to the detail you require) by emailing info@docabode.com

Doc Abode has successfully completed ('standards met') the Data Security and Protection Toolkit toolkit to provide assurance that they are practising good data security and that personal information is handled correctly. In addition Doc Abode meets GDPR requirements and has achived Cyber Essential accreditation in line with NHS Digital guidance.

Doc Abode is software as a service (SaaS) offering a range of independent and interoperable modules to better support NHS providers deliver services. Individual clinicians will still have a contract with the NHS provider as per their usual practice to address these types of issues.

Doc Abode is software as a service (SaaS) offering a range of independent and interoperable modules to better support NHS providers deliver services. Individual clinicians will still have a contract with the NHS provider as per their usual practice to address these types of issues.

We take clinicians’ data security/privacy and that of patients very seriously. Doc Abode is fully compliant with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO registration number ZA262164), has Information Governance (IG) toolkit level 2 compliance and fully compliant with the Data Protection and Security (DSP) toolkit. We have a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who can be contacted (dataprotection@docabode.com) for any data or privacy issues. Our Caldicott Guardian and SIRO are also contactable on the same email.

Our privacy policy can be found at https://docabode.com/privacy policy/policy/. We also have an independent Clinical Safety Officer who has assured our software engineering processes are met to the highest of standards and is compliant to (DCB0129) NHS Digital standards. Doc Abode also holds CREST Certified Cyber Essentials accreditation. Mobile Application Login is multi factor authentication and internet security is implemented through Transport Layer Security (TLS), in the form of the HTTPS protocol. We have undertaken PEN testing of all our software components and will undertake further penetration testing for every significant software release/update and at least annually. Doc Abode is fully compliant with GDPR requirements and is registered under NHS Digital’s Organisation Data Service (ODS code 8JR75).

All Doc Abode staff have undertaken certified IG training. We have undertaken a Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA) and we make this available to healthcare provider organisation DPO’s. Doc Abode complies with the National Data Guardian’s Data 10 Security Standards. Doc Abode has independent Information Governance (IG), cyber and data security experts who oversee all our systems and processes.

Doc Abode is software as a service (SaaS) offering a range of independent and interoperable modules to better support NHS providers deliver services. Individual clinicians will still have a contract with the NHS provider as per their usual practice to address these types of issues.

Doc Abode is software as a service (SaaS) offering a range of independent and interoperable modules to better support NHS providers deliver services. Individual clinicians will still have a contract with the NHS provider as per their usual practice to address these types of issues.

Doc Abode is software as a service (SaaS) offering a range of independent and interoperable modules to better support NHS providers deliver services. Individual clinicians will still have a contract with the NHS provider as per their usual practice to address these types of issues.

Doc Abode is software as a service (SaaS) offering a range of independent and interoperable modules to better support NHS providers deliver services. Individual clinicians will still have a contract with the NHS provider as per their usual practice to address these types of issues.

Every clinician will have a slightly different set of circumstances and they are advised to contact their Medical Defence Organisations (MDOs) to ensure they are covered to work OOH and provide proof before starting.

Traditional staffing models do not offer the flexibility to respond to the dynamic nature of patient demand. At times of escalation, traditional models are slow to respond and are in some cases do not match the real gap in resource as they require providers to commission 'shifts' of time. Any gaps in the Doc Abode erosetring module or times of excess demand can be pusge to the same day demand module to secure additional resource from a providers assured local bank. This can be for blocks of time or even individual patient level jobs, so offering a more specific resource commensurate with the real needs of the provider.

Staff using our modules are presented with a dashboard screen, that details a range of high level operation information enabling them to respond as appropriate. Within the same day demand management module, 'controllers' who will be positing jobs can set an expiry date by which they'd like a job to be accepted. In the unlikely event a job breaches this 'controllers' will be presented with a visual cue to alert them to this and can then decide upon a a range of responses to address this.

The value of a job is set by the individual NHS provider posting the job. This can be set as pre-sets in line with organisational pay rates to help controllers who will be posting jobs. Our pricing matching algorithm can be used to suggest the most economical pricing but this is a suggested price only.

This will be in line with the organisations policy on dealing with failed contacts.

Doc Abode is software as a service (SaaS) offering a range of independent and interoperable modules to better support NHS providers deliver services. Individual clinicians will still have a contract with the NHS provider as per their usual practice to address these types of issues.

All of our modules signpost users to our support pages and support team, so that any issues or questions can be resolved quickly. Support requests are responded to same day. Urgent requests are typically resolved within on average 20 minutes.

Doc Abode is designed for NHS healthcare providers to allocate work on an ad hoc basis to remote healthcare professionals (HCPs). There is no obligation for a clinician to set themselves as ‘available’ to undertake work, but when they do, they will then start to receive notifications of available jobs ranging from home visits to telephone calls.

If all the documents required are to hand, it usually takes around 15 minutes for clinicians who have never worked for the local healthcare provider and less than five mins if a clinician is already known to the provider. The healthcare provider will then process the application before granting access to the secure Doc Abode app. The duration of this process will vary from provider to provider depending on their standard operating procedures but typically takes 1-2 weeks for new clinicians as references need to be contacted and interviews may need to be arranged in some circumstances.

If there are any issues throughout any part of the registration process, you should liaise with your healthcare provider.

Clinicians will be expected to undertake all the necessary training required to ensure they are able to undertake the work. Details of this will differ from provider to provider and will be advised at registration.

The healthcare provider will specify which mandatory training evidence must be submitted at registration e.g. Adult Safeguarding certificate.

The healthcare provider will confirm to prescribers whether they will be expected to carry any medications (other than what they ordinarily carry in their home visiting bags).

Rates for home visits will be specified by the healthcare provider.

Yes, a smartphone running iOS or Android operating systems only will be required (Windows phones are not supported at this time). Clinicians also need to have the Google Maps app installed on their phone.

Clinicians must ensure they leave for the visit with plenty of battery life or have a car charger/portable emergency charger available with so as not run out of battery in the middle of a visit.

A laptop or computer (running Windows operating system) will also be required in order for the clinician enter consultation notes. The laptop or computer may be supplied by the healthcare provider.

The healthcare provider will be responsible for giving clinicians remote access to the EPR.

Clinicians will be directly contracting with the local healthcare provider and not with Doc Abode. Doc Abode is not a locum company, we provide the Software as a Service (SaaS) to healthcare providers. The app is free for clinicians to download and use. The healthcare provider will pay the HCPs through their own mechanisms for the prices agreed during each job undertaken.

Clinicians will be required to drive themselves to the patient once they have accepted a visit through Doc Abode. Clinicians must have vehicle insurance which covers for undertaking work (not just for commuting purposes).

It is at the discretion of the healthcare provider as to whether clinicians can still sign up to Doc Abode if they already work shifts. Typically, this is allowed so long as clinicians work additionally and do not replace regular shifts

If clinicians become aware that a visit they have accepted is a friend or relative or if there is any other conflict of interest, then the clinician will be required to abort the visit and upon doing so, directed to speak to the healthcare provider who will re-allocate the patient to another clinician.