Push them to the next level

Hospitals can use various strategies to encourage patients to register for their Patients Know Best (PKB) record. Increased patient registration boosts efficiency, saves money, and enhances patient care.

Why

Increasing patient registrations for PKB provides significant benefits across multiple areas. Digital correspondence reduces the costs of postage, paper, and administrative tasks while increasing patient engagement, giving patients greater control over their care.

Operationally, higher registration rates can lower missed appointment rates (DNAs) by an average of 34% and streamline communication between patients and the hospital. Additionally, data sharing improves the coordination of long-term chronic conditions and perioperative pathways by giving patients all their data in one record. Increased registrations also improve the digital reach and outcomes of NHSE initiatives such as waiting list validation, pre-op assessments and PIFU.

Finally, registering patients with PKB aligns with NHSE's sustainability plans to reduce environmental impact and become net zero by 2045. As of the end of 2023, PKB has supported over 2.5 million letters being sent digitally rather than physically, avoiding 342tCO2e.

Open

What 

Increase patient registrations for PKB, targeting substantial monthly growth. This is an achievable goal, ensuring that more patients are actively engaged with their health records, unlocking the benefits of digital correspondence and streamlining hospital communications. 

Focus on patients with upcoming appointments or data in their records, prioritising engaging with patients coming into the hospital for appointments, treatment, and surgery. 

Reduces costs, improves operational efficiency, and strengthens patient and hospital communication.

How

Identify unregistered patients with email addresses, upcoming appointments, or relevant data in their PKB. Ask PKB FreshDesk to generate pre-formatted CSV files containing NHS numbers and email addresses regularly, ensuring flagged patients are removed when necessary.

Streamline the process with automation by uploading the CSV to PKB, which will handle sending email invitations and reminders.

To measure success, review the current registration rates and analyse trends. Your Success PM can assist you with this process. Establish a target percentage increase within a specific timeframe, and your Success PM will track and provide the organisation with a report on registration statistics.

Proven methods

Below is a list of effective strategies proven to boost registration rates. As many PKB customers know, trying a combination of methods ensures sustained growth; don’t limit yourself to just one approach at a time.

Setting goals and planning

• Establish a hospital-wide registration target and review progress upon reaching it.

• Define a time frame.

• Decide how many methods to try and when to implement each one.

• Determine the number of active patients using the hospital to guide your approach.

Direct patient invitations

• Email invitations: Send clear, easy-to-follow registration instructions via email.

• SMS notifications: Send SMS messages with registration links, repeating for patients with upcoming appointments or data in the system.

• Register links are added to every correspondence/letter, a full list is here.

  • Referral, appointment, discharge, clinical and anything in between.

• In-clinic registration:

  • Encourage registration during visits with staff or volunteers who are available to assist.

  • Use QR codes, videos in waiting rooms, and printed materials to guide patients.

  • Set up kiosks or tables in waiting areas for quick sign-ups.

• Hospital website:

  • Add PKB registration links prominently on home pages or patient portal information pages.

Communications and marketing

• Correspondence: Include registration links in all hospital correspondence, such as referrals, appointments, and discharge letters.

• Social media: Promote PKB registration on the hospital’s social media channels and website.

  • Provide brochures, posters, and flyers in waiting and examination rooms or discharge areas.

  • Include QR codes to simplify the process.

  • Pre comms 

  • Social media campaigns 

  • Local radio stations 

  • Features, functionalities and data updates 

  • Use cases and case studies

• Pre-communication campaigns:

  • Use local radio stations to raise awareness.

  • Highlight features, functionalities, and use cases when achieved.

• Patient education materials:

  • Provide brochures, posters, and flyers in waiting and examination rooms or discharge areas.

  • Include QR codes to simplify the process.

Staff engagement and integration

• Train staff to explain PKB and its benefits during patient interactions.

• Encourage healthcare teams (doctors, nurses, care coordinators) to recommend PKB during conversations.

• Incorporate PKB into processes:

  • Add PKB registration as a step in discharge checklists.

  • Include it as part of admission procedures.

Patient-focused events and champions

• Workshops and webinars: Host events where patients learn how PKB benefits their care and what data they’ll access.

• PKB champions: Identify patient ambassadors who can share their positive experiences and encourage others to register.

Use cases 

Barts Health NHS Trust

200,000 patients registered within the first year and the trust has worked on an automated SMS registration workflow.  

The Trust is currently live with a range of functionality including appointments, digital letters, consent care plans and test results - all conveniently accessible to patients through the NHS App, to read more click here.  

Open

How did they achieve 200,000 registrations in one year

• Great comms locally

• PKB QR codes on posters and digital screens across the trust.

• Asked PKB for all the email addresses attached to records that were not registered. They emailed them a registration link and explained the benefits of registering with PKB.

Imperial College Health NHS Trust

In 2024, Imperial celebrated registering 500,000 patients on PKB and released over 270 million test results. To read more about the achievements, click here. 

How to replicate 

• Imperial used an efficient ADT SMS registration workflow. 

• Used PKB’s APIs to streamline patient registrations by checking the registration status

• Over 18 receive an SMS to register if they activity in the trust.

• Under-18s receive an SMS every 6 months, typically sent to the carer/parent who receives the SMS invite. 

• Implements patient engagement comms

• Developed posters and videos displayed in the clinic waiting area. 

• Leaflets with QR codes for easy access to registration and further information on what data they will receive.