Benefits of PKB Messaging

Owned by Hannah Johnson-Keck
Last updated: Oct 03, 2024
6 min read

Why

PKB secure messaging offers significant benefits to healthcare teams and patients:

  • Enhanced Communication: Messaging improves communication between patients and healthcare providers, ensuring timely and accurate information is shared.

  • Patient Engagement: It makes it easier for patients to contact their care teams with questions, concerns, or updates on their health condition.

  • Efficiency: Streamlines administrative processes, reducing the need for phone calls and follow-up appointments.

  • Confidentiality and Security: Health information is protected, maintaining patient confidentiality and compliance with data protection regulations.

Anyone in healthcare knows a quick call very quickly turns into a lengthy call, reducing productivity.

What

PKB messaging is a communication tool within the PKB platform that allows patients and healthcare providers to exchange messages securely. It can be used at every stage of the patient journey and in any pathway. PKB secure, asynchronous messages can include attachments and be patient-initiated.

iPad Outline - Messaging.png

The fact that PKB can join different medical specialists around a single medical record for each patient had a highly practical application over the Christmas holiday when a patient contacted Anna (Honorary Consultant Haematologist) concerned about the rash that had appeared. Anna explained:

“When the patient contacted me, I was worried that the rash could be a side effect of a new treatment plan – but they lived a distance away and would struggle to make their way into clinic. So, I asked the patient to take a picture of the rash on their iPhone and send me a picture securely through PKB – which he did.”

“When I saw the picture, I didn’t think it was drug-related but wanted a specialist opinion. So, I encouraged the patient to invite our dermatology team to view the photo through PKB, too. We quickly realised that it wasn’t serious. 

We suggested the patient invite his GP onto PKB and ask them to prescribe a simple skin cream.”

How

Patients and professionals can log into their PKB records and send a message from the home screen. PKB messaging allows patients to initiate messages with the teams looking after them, allowing for PIFU pathways and sharing of medical photos, videos, and links. Carers and other healthcare professionals can be added when needed. Professionals have team-based messaging to help triage messages from patients, hand over messages and leave message threads when appropriate.  

Sharing videos and reports via PKB Messaging 

Example Message  

 

For more information on the additional messaging features for professionals, click here to view PKB's manual.

Optimising Perioperative with PKB Messaging

Problem

Patients often struggle to remember or retain information shared with them immediately after surgery. This can lead to confusion about their recovery and unnecessary visits to the GP or emergency departments.

Solution

At Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, trauma and orthopaedic surgeons use PKB messaging functionalities to send personalised video messages to patients explaining their surgery and recovery guidance. These videos, reports, and images are securely uploaded and sent via a PKB message. Patients and their caregivers can access these videos throughout recovery, providing necessary information and reassurance.

Outcomes/Impact

Before PKB, 87.5% of patients required face-to-face follow-up appointments. After implementation, there was an 80% reduction in post-operative outpatient appointments for reassurance purposes, saving approximately 112.5 clinical hours annually for one consultant, equivalent to 28 additional theatres.

Click here to read the full case study from Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

Cost Savings of PKB Messaging Over Traditional Methods

For Patients

  • Cut down on phone calls or unnecessary visits by securely messaging your healthcare team online.

  • Share data, messages, photos, videos, and documents quickly.

For Teams

  • Reduce appointments by inviting patients for physical examinations only when necessary.

  • Allow patients to get in contact and reply when convenient.

  • Access images, results, and videos easily.

  • Learn how reducing the barriers to access led to fewer messages being left and, crucially, improvements in patient care at Derriford Hospital.

For Hospitals and Organisations

  • Provide a personal health record and PEP.

  • Ensure patient safety and support clinical decision-making by giving teams access to vital information from all providers in real time.

  • Share lab results, medication lists, care plans, and discharge summaries using one login and from one place.

Universal Secure Messaging

Every team in an organisation can be set up for messaging, which can be business as usual for patients and staff. For more information on how PKB can be the messaging solution across your organisation, click here. 

Use Cases of PKB Messaging

PIFU

  • Patient and professional team-based messaging to flag changes in symptoms and quickly offer additional preventative support for remote consultation and assessment, with the ability to exchange images, videos and files.

  • Messaging with the team to initiate professional support and review. Messaging with patients to share information of medical importance to be securely viewed, stored and archived along with the contextual narrative.

Long-term Conditions

  • Patients can use the PKB messaging feature instead of calling or emailing the team for Medication questions, queries, and changes. They can also send images and videos for diagnosis, treatment plans, and PIFU instead of face-to-face appointments. This allows for the sharing of information and data from other teams not on PKB, research, and patient groups. 

  • Messages between different teams involving the patient and carers/nok/individual professionals 

Sexual Health

  • The COVID-19 restrictions in March halted walk-in sexual health clinics in Plymouth, prompting the Sexual Health in Plymouth (SHiP) team to leverage the Patients Know Best (PKB) platform for remote treatment.

  • From April to August 2020, SHiP securely treated over 900 new patients using PKB, with 60% of surveyed patients comfortable sharing images via the platform. Weekly, an average of 150 messages were exchanged, and 375 patients logged into PKB more than once in July 2020. 

  • Digital consultations, which were well-received, eliminated the need for travel and reduced the local carbon footprint, while maintaining patient confidentiality and data security. To read the full case study click here.

Outcomes

  • Over 900 new patients were treated remotely between April and August 2020 – this number continues to rise by approx. 40 – 50 patients a week

  • Patients can communicate remotely and report issues which may have otherwise been unreported in person – approx. 

  • 150 messages exchanged per week.

  • 60% of patients in the SHiP satisfaction survey stated that they are happy to share images securely with their clinical team using the PKB digital platform.

  • 99% of patients (including those using PKB) who had a telephone consultation reported being satisfied with the consultation.

Sexual Health

The HIV team at Derriford made particular use of the secure messaging functionality, which means that patients can contact their doctors at a time that suits them. This adopts the core principles of a patient-initiated follow-up model, to read the full case study, click here. 

Outcomes 

  • Appointments moved from every 6 months, to once a year (50% reduction) with patients still able to initiate appointments in between if needed.

  • Preventative measures can be taken by clinical teams before symptoms escalate.

  • Patients are empowered to take control and self-manage their condition with remote support available as and when needed.