Publish date: 1 August 2024
Patients on the Isle of Wight can now receive outpatient appointment letters digitally, thanks to the launch of a new patient engagement portal.
We join 82 other trusts across the country offering a patient engagement portal to patients, giving them a single convenient place to access their appointment letters and make changes to their upcoming care. The digital letters can be translated into over 100 languages, while providing other patient accessibility features such as increased font size and background colour changes.
The new digital communication method is optional. For patients who prefer not to receive digital communications, or do not view their digital letter within 48 hours, their appointment letter will be posted to them automatically.
Rachel Dominey, Associate Director of Digital Transformation, at the trust said: “We are delighted to be working with Healthcare Communications to digitise the way we interact with patients and standardise appointment procedures for departments. Our statistics show that since going live with the patient engagement portal, over 60% of our patients are accessing their appointment letters digitally which is really positive.”
Kenny Bloxham, Healthcare Director at Healthcare Communications, said: “We're thrilled to partner with such a dedicated team committed to enhancing care through inclusive patient engagement. The Island community's already high adoption of this channel has dispelled outdated notions that certain demographics resist digital communication.
“Our patient portal is helping the Isle of Wight achieve their sustainability goals and providing patients with better access to care, all while ensuring that those not digitally enabled will continue to receive postal letters as usual. We look forward to further collaboration with the trust to empower patients in their care journey through improved engagement.”
The remaining outpatient services are planned to go live in September 2024.
