PKB can support trusts to validate the patients on waiting lists, checking patients still need to be on the list and check they are fit for surgery.
Mid-Yorks are using PKB to contact patients to see that patients need the operation via the PKB questionnaire feature.
PKB can support trusts trying to reduce the deterioration of those on waiting lists, better prepare patients for interactions, and confirm who still needs the referral.
Current Problems
Long waiting list
Unknown deterioration resulting in emergency admissions
Patients feeling lost and ringing for updates
Resulting in more money and time being wasted
Bad patients and clinical teams experience
Patients not fit for surgery
No education or support for patients
Paper and phone-based approaches not fit for purpose
PKB solutions
Contacting patients to see if they still need the op, via an automated questionnaire
APIs to trigger sending and extracting back to PAS/EPR/Dashboard
Questionnaires issued at various times/points of a patient’s pathway (confirming they still need an appointment)
Personalised patient care plans with information resources and trackers for patients to monitor symptoms and measurements whilst they wait
Patient and professional team-based messaging to flag changes in symptoms or status whilst patients wait
Library of resources for condition-specific information or generic resources for well-being and health management
Use cases
University Hospitals of North Midlands
Part of a nationwide programme. UHNM are using questionnaires to gather BMI stats from patients awaiting surgery. They use this to make decisions on whether their surgery is still OK to proceed, whether patients need to be put on a weight management programme or delay their surgery.
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Completed a trial phase across 14 clinical specialities with a Waiting List validation Questionnaire being sent to patients via PKB. Phase 2 is to start in the near future when patients are automatically added to teams within PKB and then questionnaires are sent for more effective pathways management. This is being expanded to more specialities.
Key features
There are key PKB features all services validating waiting lists can use. A list of them is below.
Questionnaires
Teams can use PKB’s FHIR trigger API to automate sending questionnaires to service users and they can use PKB’s FHIR API to extract completed responses back into their Organisation's electronic patient record (EPR) for review.
Patients can initiate a questionnaire by clicking start questionnaire on their homepage or directly within the NHS App. Once completed the questionnaire can be sent to a professional or team.
New Advanced Questionnaires
By the end of 2023, organisations will be able to use PKB’s new advanced questionnaire functionality, the features include:
Scoring and calculations
Branching, allowing patients to complete the parts of the questionnaire that are relevant to them
Coded fields, questionnaires can be mapped to clinical codes
Patients can save drafts
Send questionnaires to patients that aren’t registered or already in your team
Questionnaire templates
Quality of life questionnaires
Per operative questionnaire
Pain questionnaire
Messaging
Patients have access to message their healthcare team (saving time on the phone)
The Admin team can triage messages. Either resolving or passing onto another speciality team
Universal Messaging is the ability for patients to message clinical and non-clinical teams
Team-based messaging allows teams to automatically receive secure messages and consultations as a group rather than as individuals
Library
A wealth of resources
Online patient leaflets
Support group information
Videos
Care plans
PKB care plans can be used at every stage of a patient's condition journey, below are some of the care plan templates being used and templates that can be created.
Living Well for Longer
Condition information and resource care plans
Monitoring condition plan (example cardiology monitoring care plan)
Rehab, physical activity and musculoskeletal health
Enhanced recovery care plan
Appointments
Appointment letters and appointments sent to PKB via integration
Manually entered appointments
Workflow
Validate the Trusts Waiting list in line with NHSE.
Patients will be added to the team (set periods) and sent a Questionnaire asking if they are still wanting their appointment. Once the response is collected by the Trust they can Validate their waiting list and either discharge the patient from the PKB team or keep the patient in this team, sending a waiting list validation Questionnaire as needed and in line with NHS E guidelines. For those patients not registered in PKB, the Trust will send a digital letter to the patient's PKB record or SMS to encourage them to register for PKB and complete the waiting QA.
SMART Goal
Reduce the number of missed appointments (DNA) for the rheumatology team by Sept 2023 (12 months post team go live) from (current missed appointments) to ( %) by sending all appointment letters and appointment details into PKB instead of by post. Current missed appointment rates are (%). 12 months post go live, the team compared missed appointment rates of patients with and without a PKB record. It is a local NHS priority to reduce missed appointments to save money.