Health board launches digital ‘patient hub’
The NHS Highland health board has launched a new secure online patient portal providing people with information relating to their care at the click of a button.
Once fully operational, the ‘patient hub’ will allow patients to access information relating to their hospital appointments via smart phones, tablets and computers.
The health boards says the implementation of the new system will be complex and will take time, adding that the first phase will involve introducing the waiting list management system, relating to new appointments, also known as referrals.
The first department to progress to going live with the new system will be the neurology service.
Patients with a new neurology referral will be contacted by text or email detailing that they are on the waiting list.
Patients will only be contacted when they have been waiting for a specified number of weeks – this will be different for every speciality.
Patients who are waiting will be presented with a number of options: I still want my appointment; I still want my appointment but wish to delay; or I no longer want my appointment.
‘Waiting lists for new outpatient appointments have grown due to the Covid pandemic which resulted in non-urgent activity being temporarily suspended,’ said Katherine Sutton, chief officer NHS Highland.
‘We now seek to address that and want to ensure all appointments are utilised for patients needing treatment.
‘The waiting list validation system will allow patients the opportunity to digitally contact us and confirm whether they still require an appointment. Patients have told us they would like easier ways to communicate with us and this is one of the ways we are helping to facilitate this request.
‘Validating our lists will have a number of benefits including reducing our waiting lists and reducing the number of “did not attend” appointments.
‘It is a system that we will be introducing slowly and on an incremental basis and we are confident patients will benefit from this new way of working.’
Patients will receive a text/ email from NHS-NoReply and are asked to follow the instructions contained in the message.
To ensure the health board has their most up-to-date information, patients are asked to email nhsh.dataqualitycr@ nhs.scot with: full name; date of birth; address and post code; phone number; and Community Health Index (CHI) number, if known.