AU & NZ
SG
MY
US
IE
Joy Vs Access Elemental – Which Digital Social Prescribing Platform is Best for You?
Choosing the right social prescribing platform directly impacts your team's efficiency, the quality of care your community receives, and your ability to demonstrate outcomes for funding applications.
This comparison evaluates the Joy App and Access Elemental across the criteria that matter most: integration capabilities, analytics quality, ease of use, and scalability for your organisation's needs.
Document Status Update
This comparison was originally published in September 2023 and updated in December 2025 to reflect current capabilities. Both platforms have continued active development. For the most current information, please contact vendors directly.
Access Elemental
Access Elemental is a cloud-based platform designed to support wellbeing teams in delivering holistic, community-focused care. The platform connects individuals to non-medical support that addresses the wider determinants of health and wellbeing. In a world where well-being goes beyond clinical treatment, Access Elemental helps bridge the gap between traditional healthcare and community-based support, connecting individuals to services like physical activities, mental health resources, financial support, employment support and social opportunities.
The platform empowers health and care professionals rather than replacing them. Access Elemental provides the tools to track, manage, and report on the support they deliver, helping teams coordinate care more effectively, reduce duplication, and demonstrate impact.
Whether you're a clinician, care coordinator, or community partner, Access Elemental helps you deliver more joined-up, neighbourhood-based support - building healthier individuals and stronger communities.
Established in 2013, we have helped thousands of social prescribing projects go digital, continuously enhancing our platform to accommodate different communities' needs through packages built on customer feedback.
Jump to section:
Joy Vs Access Elemental - Defining Who They Are
Joy |
|
|
What is the aim? |
To add 10 years to life expectancy through social prescribing. |
|
What do they have to offer? |
|
|
|
Access Elemental |
|
What is the aim? |
To transform how organisations deliver and measure community support by providing actionable population health data, tracking employment outcomes, and demonstrating measurable ROI that secures sustainable funding for social prescribing programmes. |
|
What do they have to offer? |
|
Learn more about how Access Elemental software can support you.
Feature Comparison: What Each Platform Offers
When evaluating platforms, focus on integration capabilities, directory functionality, and support services. The table below compares these critical features across all three top providers.
|
|
Joy |
Access Elemental |
|
Software accessibility |
Software can be used as both an add-on/extension and a standalone software |
Software can be used as both an add-on/extension and a standalone software
|
|
Interoperability |
Integrates with EMIS Web and SystmOne |
Integrates with EMIS, VISION, SystmOne, Rio, and Mosaic |
|
Rio/Mosaic Integration Status |
No integration |
Live NHS Trust integrations - Mersey Care (70% time reduction) & Berkshire Healthcare (71% caseload reduction, 36,432 clinical hours saved annually) |
|
Directory of Services |
Marketplace directory with AI-assisted monitoring. Integrates with other directory of services to connect people to local services.. |
Inbuilt Directory of Services, and also the ability to integrate with other Directories in the area. Providing a digital front door for the community by allowing social prescribing services to manage the Directory more quickly and more efficiently. |
|
User Support |
Email/online ticketing and phone support (available 9 to 5 Monday to Friday |
Digital Support Assistant embedded into the platform for instant help. Written supportive materials including “How To” guides and cheat sheets. |
|
Analytics |
Uses metrics to record and report as an additional service including: number of referrals its source and where they have been made. Custom analysis can also be performed. |
Featured in UCL research study: Usage metrics provided per licensee including Patient Progress Report, Patient Attendance Report, Intervention Activity Report, Client Journey Report, Real-Time Dashboards, Regular Reports, Reports on requests. |
How Each Platform Works
Joy App
Joy social prescribing provides two solutions to solve three problems:
- Maintaining the efficiency of social prescribing casework
- Ensuring directories of services are constantly up to date and maintained
- Having effective measurements of outcomes
Marketplace – Connects social prescribers to community-based organisations to enable referrals in the click of a button as well as self-referrals. Recent enhancements (2024-2025) include Client Cases for collaborative case management, Automations for workflow efficiency, and Client Lists for bulk operations.
Case Management App – Easy-to-use application making managing and recording outcomes easier and more efficient. Joy has expanded significantly, now serving patients across PCNs, ICBs, local authorities, and NHS trusts.
Access Elemental
Access Elemental's digital award-winning platform is currently enabling case workers in various sectors across the UK and Ireland to:
-
Receive Referrals from numerous sources such as GPs, social workers, Crisis Support Teams, Universities, Housing Associations, etc.
-
Baseline Assessments - Carry out baseline assessments with patients and co-create wellbeing plans based on the outcomes.
-
Manage Caseloads - It allows them to effortlessly and confidently manage their caseloads, transforming the lives of many individuals.
-
Database of Services - Easily browse a live and interactive shared database of services to suit their needs.
-
Reporting at an individual, cohort or locality level - On where referrals come from, what the reason for referral is, which services patients have attended and the difference the service is making for the person's life.
-
Bespoke Pathways - Refer support that recommends by co-designing referral pathways that are bespoke to the individual.
Validated: Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Access Elemental was chosen by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. Through The Life Rooms, it is the UK's first NHS Trust to achieve interoperability between Rio and a social prescribing platform. Following a successful 12-month pilot, Mersey Care saw a 70% reduction in clinician time spent on social needs support, with 97.2% of clinicians reporting confidence in the referral pathway and 92.6% of service users experiencing improved mental wellbeing. The integration is now deployed across Merseyside mental health teams.
The study's lead author noted: "Our study takes the first broad view of all types of referral pathways, including through primary care, social care, education, charities and self-referrals and shows a much more positive picture."
Scaling Impact: Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust deployed the Rio-Elemental integration in December 2024, achieving rapid adoption by April-May 2025. The results demonstrate consistent, scalable impact: clinicians save an average of 4 hours per referral, translating to 36,432 clinical hours saved annually, while average caseload duration reduced by 71% from 17 days to just 5 days. Processing 120 referrals monthly with 86% staff satisfaction, Berkshire Healthcare validates Access Elemental's capability to deliver ROI across different NHS Trust contexts. The integration expands to physical health and children's services in 2026, providing first-time referral data visibility that enables evidence-based service planning
Both cases validate Access Elemental's multi-sector approach and demonstrates the platform's capability to deliver research-grade data quality for evidence-based social prescribing programmes.
Integration Capabilities
Both Joy and Access Elemental provide detailed integration specifications. Access Elemental's Connector provides real-time bidirectional synchronisation with primary care systems (EMIS Web, Vision, SystmOne). For Rio and Mosaic, Access Elemental is deployed at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.
Both providers, however, offer functionality to develop, manage and update Directory of Services within their platforms to make the process easier for PCNs, local authorities, and housing associations.
Customer Example: Age Barnet UK
Age Barnet UK uses Access Elemental's Case Management System and GP ConnectorPlus module to improve service accessibility and diversity. Data reports filtered by practice, clinician, referral reason, and time period revealed which of their 48 GP practices showed lower social prescribing uptake. This granular visibility enabled targeted engagement, increasing overall community reach and reducing pressure on primary care services
Ecosystem Integration: Supporting Patients Throughout Their Journey
Integration with Access Rio (EPR) and Access Mosaic (Social Care Case Management) creates connected workflows supporting patients throughout their journey - enabling early intervention before needs escalate, facilitating safe discharge with community support, and helping people step down from statutory services.
Patients benefit from faster access to holistic support addressing housing, financial concerns, social isolation, and wellbeing, improving their independence and quality of life while maintaining connection to community. Integrated referral pathways connect people to resources before reaching statutory thresholds, reducing avoidable front-door demand while saving approximately 20% of clinical time.
Referrals made via Access Mosaic are pre-populated with client information, reducing administrative burden and ensuring social care teams connect clients to current, appropriate community activities
For more information on our recent integration with Access Mosaic, contact us today where we can share our recent webinar explaining the benefits of this integration further and how it helps to reduce pressure on social workers through better utilisation of local preventative services.
Pricing Considerations
Access Elemental provides pricing information via sales consultation or website downloads. Joy's pricing information requires direct contact with their sales team. Both Joy and Access Elemental offer costing breakdowns based on population size.
Joy charges separately for their case management system and marketplace solution, whilst Access Elemental includes a directory of services in their main package.
First year costs may be higher across both platforms due to training, consultancy, and implementation support included in the initial pricing.
When evaluating platforms, consider your specific requirements, which solutions best support your needs, and which offer the best value for your organisation’s budget. For detailed Access Elemental pricing information, contact us today.
Making Your Decision: Which Platform Fits Your Needs?
This article has reviewed and answered all your questions on two digital platforms and the social prescribing software currently available, as well as how they can benefit your community.
Joy has expanded significantly from its original GP practice focus, now serving patients across ICBs, local authorities, and NHS trusts.
Access Elemental supports multi-sector collaboration across health and social care, education, employment, housing, and voluntary organisations. Multiple integrations across various clinical systems (EMIS, Vision, SystmOne, Rio, Mosaic) enable joined-up care coordination and secure referral pathways.
Integration with Access Rio EPR (Electronic Patient Record) allows clinicians to directly refer individuals and track health and wellbeing outcomes within their existing EPR workflow. If we do not offer something that you need to measure, we can create bespoke dashboards to best suit your needs. Our analytic tools help meet different social prescribing services' needs, supporting evidence-based decision-making and ROI demonstrations as the demand for social prescribing increases.
Next Generation Capabilities: Access Evo Platform (Early 2026)
Access Elemental's integration with the Access Evo platform brings intelligent capabilities to social prescribing workflows. CoPilot enables teams to ask questions in plain English - "Show me an overview for Sarah Jones" or "Who needs follow-up this week?" - receiving instant answers without navigating multiple screens. Feeds provide smart notifications about upcoming tasks and priorities. This is expected to return approximately 3-5 hours weekly per link worker to patient-facing work, differentiating Access Elemental’s roadmap in AI-assisted workflow optimisation.
As part of the Access Group, Access Elemental benefits from ecosystem integration with Rio and Mosaic that enables strategic development alignment across our health and social care portfolio.
For more information on how Access Elemental supports community health and wellbeing programmes, contact us to discuss your organisation’s specific requirements.
Technical review and updates by Product Intelligence team, December 2025. Original content by Claire Wardle, September 2023.
Unlock the future of social prescribing
