Situation
NHS Health Call aspired to establish a comprehensive and effective Patient Engagement Platform (PEP) to allow patients to manage their appointments, access information, and communicate with healthcare professionals through a single point of contact. Servita was commissioned to co-create and build this solution with NHS Health Call and to produce the product while providing expert support. The PEP was envisioned to enhance the patient experience and alleviate the administrative pressures faced by NHS colleagues.
Solution
We developed a unique ‘digital-first solution’, the Patient Engagement Platform (PEP), which seamlessly integrates with the NHS App already used by over 50% of patients across England. This integration eliminates the need for multiple apps or logins to manage appointments and correspondence. PEP allows organisations to upload appointments, letters, and correspondence directly into the NHS App for patients to view. They can respond to or amend things in real time, all from one place.
In addition to these features, the PEP, developed by NHS professionals with clinicians and patients in mind, allows patients to manage outpatient appointments and communicate through the NHS App, enhancing their experience. Patients are empowered to manage their own care, reducing missed appointments, and streamlining the patient journey. Health Call’s library of digital solutions, including Virtual Wards, PIFU, Waiting List validation, and remote monitoring solutions, can be integrated into our PEP, allowing for management of the entire patient journey with one platform and supplier.
Results
The product of our collaboration is a fully supported, reliable and scalable Patient Engagement Platform that offers a multitude of benefits. These include:
- Potential savings of over £1M on letters, printing, and postage for each Trust.
- Reducing carbon emissions.
- Increasing patient transparency with appointments and correspondence.
- Integrating within the NHS App, eliminating the need for extra logins or requests for patients to download or register a new platform.
The solution is already highly favoured by patients:
- 83% of patients say they will use PEP to speed up their health and care support.
- 81% appreciate having everything in one place.
- 64% of patients support PEP as a means of saving the environment.
With this solution, we are driving a transformative shift in patient care within the UK’s healthcare system. This innovation not only enhances the patient experience but also significantly reduces the administrative pressures on NHS staff, leading to more efficient and effective patient care.