Could greater patient engagement help with more efficient management of the backlog?

From the perspective of a service user, interactions with health and social care are often exceedingly difficult to navigate. The NHS’s traditional to approach to managing patient pathways has involved letters, appointments at set times, and stress for an individual needing to communicate that a planned consultation is no longer needed – or is needed more urgently. Knowing which service to access, and how to do so swiftly, can be particularly challenging.

All this is inefficient and can lead to poor patient experience. As the service seeks to manage the backlog of care, and to meet the continuing demands of an unpredictable pandemic, that becomes particularly problematic.

So how might healthcare organisations help move from patients who are passive participants in pathways to active partners, able to regularly communicate as their needs change? How might self-referrals and patient initiated follow up processes be more widely rolled out? What unpinning technology would be needed to make such a shift?

This HSJ webinar, run in association with Salesforce, will bring together a small panel to discuss these issues.

Register