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 up to 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.
Finally, registering patients with PKB reduces environmental impact and aligns with green sustainability plans.
What
Increase patient registrations for PKB, targeting an additional 10,000 registrations per month. 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 methods proven to increase registration rates. As many PKB customers know, trying various strategies will ensure continued growth in registration; do not limit yourself to trying just one at a time.
Set a registration goal for the hospital and review once you hit the target.
Set a time frame
How many methods and when to try each of them
Find out how many active patients you have using the hospital
Email invitations
Send email invitations with easy-to-follow instructions for registration.
QR codes
Register links are added to every correspondence/letter.
Referral, appointment, discharge, clinical and anything in between.
In clinic registration
Encourage patients to register with staff or volunteers to assist during their visit.
Videos in waiting rooms
QR codes
Paper information on how to register
Kiosks or tables
In waiting areas to allow quick sign-ups.
SMS
Send SMS notifications with a registration link, making it convenient for patients to register from their mobile devices.
Repeat these for patients who have upcoming appointments or data in their records.
Hospital website
PKB registration links on homepages
Patient portal information page
Patient education materials
Provide brochures, posters, and flyers that explain PKB’s benefits in waiting rooms, examination rooms, and discharge areas.
Include a QR code on these materials to simplify the registration process.
Staff training and engagement
Train healthcare staff to discuss PKB with patients, explaining how it can enhance their care.
Encourage doctors, nurses, and care coordinators to mention PKB in their conversations.
Include registration to PKB as part of any discharge process
PKB registration in the discharge checklist
Include registration to PKB as part of any admission to the hospital
Admission checklist.
Social media
Promote PKB registration on the hospital’s social media channels and website.
Pre comms
Social media campaigns
Local radio stations
Features, functionalities and data updates
Use cases and case studies
Patient events and workshops
Host informational sessions or webinars where patients learn how the organisation uses PKB and what data they will receive.
PKB Champions
Identify patient ambassadors who successfully use the platform and can share their positive experiences.
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.
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 replicable
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.