Overview
Part of Frimley ICB, Alexander House Surgery serves a patient population of 10,600 in Farnborough. The practice piloted Surgery Intellect, powered by TORTUS to support clinician documentation across telephone and face-to-face consultations. With multiple teams involved in day-to-day patient contact, the practice needed an AVT solution that was familiar, could fit into existing workflows and improve the quality and consistency of notes.
The challenge
Across clinicians, documentation styles varied, and telephone consultations in particular could feel distracting when staff were typing while talking. The team wanted an AVT solution that fit into existing workflows and would support patient-focused consultations while reducing the administrative load of writing notes after consultations.
The solution
The practice trialled Surgery Intellect, powered by TORTUS, that integrates into their existing Surgery Connect telephony and Phonebar. This allowed clinicians to use the tool across both telephone and face-to-face consultations within a familiar workflow, without switching systems. It was used for routine documentation and more complex appointments, including mental health consultations, while also supporting structured summaries for wider internal use.
Early results and impact
“Before, we’d overrun in clinic. Surgery Intellect saves me around half of my clinic time and because it’s integrated, I don’t have to worry about copying and pasting. It picks up medical concerns as well as social factors, so you get a more holistic overview. It’s great for continuity between clinicians, providing consistent, quality notes and allows me to really focus on the patient.”
Gemma, Nurse Prescriber
Teams reported stronger consultation flow, particularly on the phone, where not having to type as they spoke helped conversations feel more focused. Clinicians found that the tool supported active listening and helped capture multiple issues raised in a single appointment, acting as a safety net when reviewing notes before saving. The practice also highlighted improved consistency in clinical documentation, making it easier for different clinicians to pick up the same patient’s record and follow the plan. For some roles, structured summaries and coding were seen as practical time-savers, with quick proofreading and minor edits needed before filing.
Looking ahead
The practice is keen to continue using Surgery Intellect, powered by TORTUS, across both telephone and face-to-face consultations. They also see value in building on templates and formats so different teams can tailor outputs to their workflows, while keeping clinician review and control central.
Summary
This free trial shows how integration and familiarity can help AVT adoption across different practice teams. By embedding Surgery Intellect into telephony and Phonebar workflows, Alexander House Surgery was able to support more patient-focused consultations, improve consistency of notes across clinicians, and reduce the administrative burden of documentation.
Want to see how Surgery Intellect, powered by TORTUS could support your practice?