DrDoctor, the UK’s leading patient engagement platform (PEP) supplier, has today announced a new integration partnership with Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust to empower operational and clinical teams to manage and scale hybrid patient pathways within the Trust.
The partnership – which will see DrDoctor’s Patient Engagement Platform (PEP) integrate with CareNotes Electronic Patient Record (EPR) – will initially be rolled out in the Gender Identity clinic – with the view of extending long-term into other departments within the hospital to ensure service users are getting the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
As part of the roll out, Tavistock and Portman will introduce a wide range of DrDoctor’s non-integrated products within its technology stack. Initially, this will focus on patient engagement tools including Broadcast Message and Quick Question.
Integrating the Broadcast Message tool will enable Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust to send SMS messages to up to 10,000 service users at once in less than 15 minutes, communicating critical updates at speed, whilst improving operational efficiencies. The Quick Question tool – which has been proven to reduce waitlists by 12% – will enable the Trust to ask thousands of service users a simple question such as ‘are you still planning to attend your appointment’ to help gather information that facilitates better waitlist management.
As part of the partnership, to support the Trust in triaging patients at greater speed, DrDoctor’s notifications and messaging (N&M) functionality will also be implemented. This will help the Trust with basic appointment rescheduling and management to put service users onto the right pathway.
Dr James Barrett, Lead Clinician at the gender identity clinic at Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust said: “This Patient Portal genuinely has the potential to be a huge leap forward for patients and clinicians alike. We will be able to communicate with any patient or group of patients really quickly. It means we will soon be able to get information, opinions and options from patients pretty much in real time. We can learn exactly what would help most, and if it’s possible we will try to get that done. There’s the potential to be kept bang up to date with what’s happening with every patient, at any time. It sure will help us and I’d be willing to bet it would help any other team in Tavistock and Portman”.
Ian Curr, Project Manager at Tavistock and Portman said: “The Patient Portal gives our service users the latest technology to interact with our services. It advances the Trust’s quest for working digitally by default. It will keep patients updated and in control of their journey from referral to appointment and for as long as they need our services. We’ll keep a close eye on how it’s received by GIC service users but are confident we can roll it out for the whole organisation by the end of 2024”.
Founder and CEO of DrDoctor, Tom Whicher added: “We’re delighted Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust is taking the issue of waiting lists seriously and has selected our platform to revolutionise its entire patient pathway. Our tech is designed to fundamentally change the way patients access care, whilst supporting Trusts to increase efficiency and minimise inaccuracy throughout the patient journey. With ambitious plans to continue enhancing this partnership through a phased roll out of non-integrated products, from Direct Messaging to Advanced Rescheduling, we’re committed to delivering seamless hybrid healthcare to empower patients and service users along their care journey – all while strengthening our support for the NHS”.
