Benefits Sharing Radiography Reports in PKB

Owned by Hannah Johnson-Keck
Last updated: Jul 08, 2024
4 min read

Why

Clinical care is enhanced when patients and healthcare professionals have real-time access to comprehensive health records, which include radiography reports. This enables patients to gain a deeper understanding of their health and take an active role in managing their care.

Empowered by access to their radiography reports, patients become more engaged in their healthcare journey. They can review the reports and readily share them with healthcare professionals, caregivers, and family members.

Furthermore, access to radiography reports can prevent unnecessary duplication of tests and procedures, leading to reduced clinical costs.

Benefits 

  • Reduced administrative costs through digital sharing

  • Instant access to results

  • Automated delays for sensitive results

  • Decreased carbon footprint

  • Increased productivity during appointments as patients are better informed

  • Enhanced patient engagement and reduced anxiety levels 

  • Enhanced care coordination among multi-disciplinary teams

  • Virtual and patient-initiated-follow-up appointments

What 

Organisations can share radiography reports with patients via their integration with PKB. Radiography reports are conveniently located under the "imaging" section in the patient's PKB record.

Digital access to radiography reports can lead to a reduction in call volume and cost savings in paper, mailing, and human resources associated with these activities. Appointment times are also spent more productively discussing treatment plans and goals rather than the outcome of any results. Reading the reports gives the patient the opportunity to think about questions they want to ask and make an informed decision about their treatment plan. 

"Patients being enabled to see their own results empowers them to manage their own condition. It also allows us to design remote management pathways meaning that patients will no longer need to come to the hospital regularly. This is better for the patients and better for the NHS; having patients who have already seen problem-results mean they are prepared for the discussion we need to have."

Dr John Laurie, Haematology Consultant, University Hospital Sussex

How 

Organisations integrated with PKB can send Radiology Reports to a patient record using an ORUR01 HL7 message, the scope of which can be found here.

When considering sending radiology reports, organisations might find it helpful to review the configuration document that PKB will request is completed prior to the commencement of any development. An example can be found here.

Given the sensitive nature of many radiology reports, it is common for organisations to want to delay when a report (and any associated attachments) becomes viewable to a patient. This can be achieved by specifying in the HL7 message how many days (from the date of observation) the ability to view should be restricted. 

Use cases

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust implemented Care Information Exchange (powered by PKB) in 2017 to enhance patient care. The aim was to enable patients to receive the best care and help them feel more in control of their health and social care. As part of its broader data-sharing objectives, this now includes sharing radiology reports. With over 80 teams and more than 500,000 patients and service users in North West London utilising the platform via mobile phones, tablets, and computers, it has become a vital tool. Test results, such as blood tests and x-rays, are seamlessly sent through integration to patients' PKB records, streamlining the process and eliminating the need for time-consuming phone inquiries about test results.

Stats 

  • 1.8 million PKB records created

  • 26% of patients registered

  • 74% of registrations via NHS login / 98% of registrations via NHS login this year

  • Weekly active users: 65,562

Outcomes 

The Care Information Exchange (powered by Patients Know Best) 

In a survey conducted by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in 2019, 500 PKB users of the Care Information Exchange were asked how useful they find the following features:

Radiology reports

75% of patients reported that viewing their radiology reports is extremely useful, with 25% suggesting this is very useful.

Stats 

PKB customers have shared over 600,000 radiography results already this year  (written on 1st May 2024). 

Case study

The benefits of providing more data to patients and improving the patient experience

  • Eases the workload for clinical and administrative staff by decreasing the need to handle numerous inquiries.

  • Enables clinicians to swiftly access medical data from other Trusts, promoting efficient decision-making.

  • Elevates the patient experience by delivering real-time results and empowering individuals with a sense of autonomy.

Delay radiography reports 

Organisations can delay when imaging reports are visible in patient records to give them time to review them first.

When patients have a delayed report, the time and date it will be available will be displayed so they know when to check their records again.Â