Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust has announced the introduction of a new patient engagement portal, to be delivered in partnership with DrDoctor and due to roll-out across the trust in March.
The trust says that the portal is intended to offer people more choice when booking appointments, and to improve two-way communication. It will be fully integrated with Calderdale and Huddersfield’s EPR and the NHS App.
Takis Kalogeropoulos, project manager for the transformation team, has commented that the new portal “is about empowering the patients to allow them to be more involved in their care. It’s really exciting news for CHFT, both for patients and for colleagues.”
The first stage of the roll-out will see the trust switch the existing functionality including digital letter and text message services across to the new platform, with Takis adding that the possibilities are “much greater” with the trust hoping that the portal will “ultimately allow us to provide more choice for patients, and help to reduce waiting lists.”
Earlier in the week, we covered the news that a patient portal is to launch at George Eliot Hospital in Warwickshire; and in December we reported that Buckinghamshire Healthcare introduced their own portal via the NHS App.
In October, HTN looked into research exploring the effectiveness of education through patient portals, which found that portals “are becoming a powerful tool for patient education and engagement, and show promise as a means of achieving the quadruple aim of healthcare” – to improve patient outcomes, improve patient experience, reduce costs and improve provider experience at work. Click here to read more.
Last year we also shared a deep dive into patient portals exploring statistics around coverage and functionality, a case study and research; and the views of digital leaders on lessons learned and the impact of patient portals.
