Hywel Dda University Health Board

Their journey so far

Background

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Patients Know Best was first adopted by the Hywel Dda Health Board early 2019, and today the platform is now in use with around 25 different clinical teams. These teams span various specialties include Physiotherapy, Respiratory, Pelvic Health, Home Care, Orthopaedics and more.  Each team has varied goals and outcomes they have achieved, or aim to achieve, through using the platform.
Very valuable for our service, patients feel well supported and feel they have more appropriate access to health professionals in the team. We use PKB as standard care now in patients starting new drug therapy to allow us to monitor side effects (messaging) and also to communicate regarding blood tests and dose changes.
Jennifer Lynch-Wilson, Specialist Nurse, Respiratory
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Reduced Telephone Appointments:

One of the important benefits of PKB to teams is the reduction in telephone appointments, saving clinicians valuable time. Patients can now access their medical records and communicate with their healthcare providers securely through the PKB platform, eliminating the need for unnecessary phone calls. This process is especially used with the Urology Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) and Home Care teams.
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Improved Patient Experience:

Patient experience has improved by providing patients with easy access to their health information and advice suitable for them. Patients can access their records and complete online questionnaires at their convenience. This empowers patients to take an active role in managing their health and allows clinicians to provide more personalised care. For example, the Menopause team asks patients to complete a pre-consultation questionnaire digitally in advance of an appointment - not only saving appointment time, but meaning that the patient can fill out their answers in a relaxed environment in a timeframe that suits them. The clinician can then view these responses before the appointment, allowing for easy review. 

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    Over 100 questionnaires have been sent to Menopause patients since the service went live, with 76% of patients completing them.

Once set up, the platform is easy to use and can offer a lot.

Anna Bevan, clinical lead physiotherapist, Waiting List Support Service
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Weight Management teams, send questionnaires in advance of appointments, and provide supportive care plans and library resources to help patients achieve their goals. This process saves clinical time by ensuring questions are answered in advance of the appointment and allow patients ample time to respond thoughtfully. Giving patients verified resources to allow them to manage their own health.

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    The Weight Management teams have sent over 400 questionnaires to their patients to date and 71% have been completed.

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The Pelvic Health team givese patients access to extensive library resources to help them manage their own health and to feel empowered to understand their condition.

All the info in one place reassures me that the patient can easily access what they need

Janine Jenkins Specialist Occupational Therapist
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A number of Physiotherapy teams using PKB within the health board give patients access to care plans to complete exercise programmes and treatment plans. The patients then feel able to manage their own health at home and adhere can show adhere to treatment plans without requiring appointments or phone calls.

Superb system - we need this to be our main digital solution for patient interactions

Andrea Graham, Service Lead: Lymphoedema

Enhanced Communication:

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PKB has enhanced the communication between patients and clinicians. Patients can securely message their healthcare providers, ask questions, and receive timely responses. This improved communication has led to increased patient satisfaction and a reduction in admin time for professionals who would historically have spent a lot of time responding to telephone messages. The Respiratory ILD team has made effective use of this messaging feature, and a case study exploring this in more detail can be found here.
The ability to communicate with patients and use of PKB saves time in telephone calls. Patients can ask questions about their disease/treatment/discuss side effects of drugs. It is useful to send documents safely including clinic letters uploaded, lung function results and patient leaflets in the library.
Jennifer Lynch-Wilson, ILD Respiratory Specialist Nurse
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For the Urology PSA team, clinical admin staff add the PSA test results to patients' records. Patients have access to library resources about their condition. Patients can see blood results without needing an appointment, waiting for a letter or phone call. If a patient’s results are stable, they can track their measurements and symptoms and speak with staff via messaging, avoiding the need for a routine appointment unless necessary.
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    The Urology PSA team has sent 500 questionnaires to patients since their team launch with 59% being completed by patients.

I like the ease in which patients can be added and uploaded. Being able to easily send documents, questionnaires and messages to patients is also great and avoids postal delays and costs
Kelly Weaving – PKB administrator for Urology services

Future plans

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By reducing telephone appointments, improving patient experience, and enhancing communication, Hywel Dda University Health Board's successful implementation of Patients Know Best is helping to transform healthcare delivery for patients and clinicians. As more teams come onboard and as more integration is switched on for the health board, we can expect to see even greater improvements in healthcare quality and patient satisfaction.

I think this will be a future platform for all patients, whatever service they are accessing.

Lisa O’Malley, Urology Nurse