Renal Comms Toolkit

Owned by Mohammad Al-Ubaydli
Last updated: Jul 09, 2024 by Hannah Johnson-Keck
10 min read

This Comms Toolkit has been designed to help you communicate with your patients and staff about the switch from PatientView to PKB.  

Included in this toolkit

Background Information

The UK Kidney Association UKKA (formerly the Renal Association) has contracted Patients Know Best (PKB) to re-platform its national patient-facing system, ‘PatientView’, to Patients Know Best. This 5-year deal is expected to benefit 75,000 patients receiving care and treatment for renal disease across 72 hospitals in the UK.

Founded in 2008, Patients Know Best is a UK based social enterprise and Europe’s largest provider of personal health records. Today, the company is contracted to provide services for over 12 million people in the UK alone.

The UKKA currently provides renal patients in the UK with a view of their clinical data using the PatientView system. The move to PKB is expected to enhance the current portal to offer patients advanced features and functionality. This will include care planning, team-based messaging and an ecosystem of integrated wearable and monitoring devices.

Comprehensive technical and information governance reviews have been completed before contracting and the implementation with NHS Trusts began in October 2021. 

The UKKA Board of Trustees is pleased with the move and believe PKB is the right national and scalable PHR platform for its renal patients. It offers great potential to deliver improved outcomes while empowering patients to take control to manage their condition.

The UKKA and PKB have developed a resource kit to support NHS trusts with the transition. This includes technical guidance and information for communicating the changes with patients and staff groups. 

Key messages

  • Patients will continue to have access to their test results as they are released and will be able to see all of the past results currently on PatientView.

  • The UK Kidney Association (UKKA) has contracted Patients Know Best (PKB) to re-platform its national patient-facing system, PatientView, to Patients Know Best. 

  • This 5-year deal is expected to benefit all 75,000 patients receiving care and treatment for renal disease across 72 hospitals in the UK.

  • The UK Kidney Association (UKKA) currently provides renal patients in the UK with a view of their clinical data using the PatientView system. 

  • The move to PKB is expected to enhance the current portal to offer patients advanced features and functionality. This will include increased security, care planning, team-based messaging and an ecosystem of integrated wearable and monitoring devices all to support clinical transformation.

  • Comprehensive technical and information governance reviews have been completed before contracting and the implementation with NHS Trusts began in October 2021. 

  • An implementation programme has been agreed and the UK Kidney Association (UKKA) and Patients Know Best (PKB), will begin working with NHS trusts to roll out the PKB platform for all patients receiving care and treatment for renal disease in the UK.

  • For further information or support with this transition, please contact renal@patientsknowbest.com

Letter/Email to patients

Dear XXXX

Your PatientView system is being switched over to Patients Know Best (PKB)

The renal team at [Insert name of Trust] is switching over to a new service called Patients Know Best (PKB). PKB is a UK-based social enterprise and the leading provider of digital personal health records to the NHS. This is part of a national switchover commissioned by the UK Kidney Association.

Patients will continue to have access to their test results as they are released, and will be able to see all of the past results that are currently on PatientView.  If you do not already have a PKB account, to continue to receive your data, and access many more tools to help you manage your health then visit the PKB website Renal - Patients Know Best and sign up today.

We will also send a reminder email with a direct link to register for PKB so you can see your renal data.

If you have any difficulties registering with NHS Login, please email us at [insert email address for the Trust]. We will then be able to add your email address to your PKB record and this will send an invite link directly to you.

Background Information

The UK Kidney Association UKKA (formerly the Renal Association) has contracted Patients Know Best to re-platform its national patient-facing system, PatientView, to Patients Know Best. This 5-year deal is expected to benefit 75,000 patients receiving care and treatment for renal disease across 72 hospitals in the UK.

Founded in 2008, Patients Know Best is a UK based social enterprise and Europe’s largest provider of personal health records. Today, the company is contracted to provide services for over 12 million people in the UK alone.

The UKKA currently provides renal patients in the UK with a view of their clinical data using the PatientView system. The move to PKB is expected to enhance the current portal to offer patients advanced features and functionality. This will include care planning, team-based messaging and an ecosystem of integrated wearable and monitoring devices.

Comprehensive technical and information governance reviews have been completed before contracting and the implementation with NHS Trusts began in October 2021.

The new PKB system offers you increased security, and advanced features and functionality to support the management of your renal condition, as well as any other health conditions you may have. You will have improved access to care plans, and a range of other features to support you with self-management. For example:

  • a personal journal - keep a record of your condition

  • resource library - access information and support services

  • symptom tracker - keep a log of symptoms and share with teams (if needed)

  • share your record - with carers or extended health or care teams

  • connect wearable devices - and share data with teams in real-time

  • store important information - all your diagnoses, medications, allergies or clinical correspondence, seamlessly in one place.

To learn more about the features and benefits of PKB visit Patient access to personal health records . You can also read this example from the NHS about how they have worked with PKB to improve patient engagement and deliver a digital dietetics service to kidney patients.

You can find out more about the switch over and how to register at Renal - Patients Know Best . However, if you have any further questions, please get in touch with a member of the PKB team via email to help@patientsknowbest.com 

Yours sincerely,

Poster for waiting rooms

You can use these sample posters to print off and put up in your waiting areas.  There are two designs (with a background or not).  Just click on the link underneath the poster, then you can print it off.

EXAMPLE - For patients not registered with PKB:

Renal Poster 1
Renal Poster 2

 

EXAMPLE - For patients already registered with PKB:

Information Postcards

We have created these postcard designs which you can give to your patients .  If you would like us to add your Trust logo and the contact details of your local Renal Co-ordinator then just let your PKB Success Team Member know.

Newsletter copy for NHS trusts

[short version]

PatientView switches over to Patients Know Best

The UK Kidney Association UKKA (formerly the Renal Association) has contracted Patients Know Best (PKB) to re-platform its national patient-facing system - PatientView, to the PKB personal health records digital platform. 

PatientView currently provides over 75,000 patients receiving care and treatment for renal disease in the UK with a view of their clinical data. However, the new PKB system offers patients and their renal teams more advanced features and functionality. This includes increased security, care planning, team-based messaging and an ecosystem of integrated wearable and monitoring devices to support clinical transformation.

The implementation plan will be agreed with the trust and our respective renal teams over the coming weeks. 

For more information, please click here or email renal@patientsknowbest.com.

[short version]

 

PatientView switches over to Patients Know Best

The UK Kidney Association UKKA (formerly the Renal Association) has contracted Patients Know Best (PKB) to re-platform its national patient-facing system - PatientView, to the PKB personal health records digital platform. 

PatientView currently provides over 75,000 patients receiving care and treatment for renal disease in the UK with a view of their clinical data. However, the new PKB system offers patients and their renal teams more advanced features and functionality. This includes increased security, care planning, team-based messaging and an ecosystem of integrated wearable and monitoring devices to support clinical transformation.

The implementation plan will be agreed with the trust and our respective renal teams over the coming weeks. 

For more information, please clickhere or email renal@patientsknowbest.com.

[long version]

PatientView switches over to Patients Know Best

The UK Kidney Association UKKA (formerly the Renal Association) has contracted Patients Know Best (PKB) to re-platform its national patient-facing system - PatientView, to the PKB personal health records digital platform. 

Patients Know Best is the largest provider of PHRs in Europe and currently contracted for over 12 million lives in the UK. [ADD/REMOVE this if relevant to your Trust : As you may be aware, this personal health record platform is also currently used trust-wide/ within our XXXX departments, to share health information with our patients and teams for the management of care.]

The current PatientView system provides renal patient’s in the UK with a view of their clinical data. The move to PKB is expected to benefit 75,000 patients receiving care and treatment for renal disease across 72 hospitals. 

The new PKB system supports clinical transformation, offering patients and renal teams increased security, and advanced features and functionality for the management of renal disease, as well as any other health conditions the patient may have. 

This means improved access to care plans, team-based messaging, appointment letters, and a range of other features to support patients with self-management. For example:

  • a personal journal - to help keep a record of any conditions or symptoms 

  • resource library - access to information and support services

  • symptom tracker - a log of symptoms to share with teams (where applicable)

  • record sharing - with carers or extended health or care teams

  • connect wearable devices - to share data with teams in real-time 

  • store important information - diagnoses, medications, allergies or clinical correspondence, all in one place. 

A comprehensive technical and governance review has been completed by the UKKA and the implementation with our trust will begin from XXXX. This plan will be agreed with the trust and our respective Renal teams over the coming weeks. A PKB Renal Programme webpage has also been developed to help support patients and renal teams through the transition. This includes a package of training for staff where required. 

For more information, please click here or email renal@patientsknowbest.com

An example of a newsletter article by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

Social Media

If you want to promote via your social media platforms here are some suggested messages you can send out:

Tags: @UKKidney @patientsco

Hashtag: #switchover

____________________________________________________________

We’re switching over! We’re pleased to announce that PatientView will move over to the @patientsco #PHR. This offers our renal patients increased security and advanced features and functionality #switchover for #careplans #messaging #devicemonitoring #sharedcare Find out more

____________________________________________________________

We’re empowering patients with renal disease and their carers, with new digital tools for improved self-management and care.  Find out more #switchover @patientsco 

____________________________________________________________

@UKKidney and @patientsco are working with us to help #switchover patients from PatientView to PKB.  Find out more

Links to useful information

FOR PAEDIATRIC TEAMS

Letter/Email to carers of paediatric patients

Dear XXXX

PatientView system is being switched over to Patients Know Best (PKB)

The renal team at [Insert name of Trust] is switching over to a new service called Patients Know Best (PKB). PKB is a UK-based social enterprise and the leading provider of digital personal health records to the NHS. This is part of a national switchover commissioned by the UK Kidney Association.

Patients will continue to have access to their test results as they are released, and will be able to see all of the past results that are currently on PatientView.  If you do not already have a PKB account, to continue to receive your data, and access many more tools to help you manage your health then visit the PKB website Renal - Patients Know Best and sign up today.

If you are accessing information on another patient's behalf, PKB has carer functionality, meaning you can access their data through your own account. In order to have the connection made to view your child’s record - please register for your own account using NHS login on the PKB registration page Patients Know Best . 

Once you have completed the setup process, please contact [insert email address for the Trust] with your email address, name and the name and NHS number of the record you need to be connected to. The Trust will then add you as a carer to the relevant record.

You can find out more about the switch over and how to register atRenal - Patients Know Best . However, if you have any further questions, please contact a PKB team member via email to help@patientsknowbest.com.

Yours sincerely,

Poster for waiting rooms

EXAMPLE - For Carers of paediatric renal patients: