‘Aggressive’ NHSE campaign insists trusts enable digital communications with patients

NHS England has launched a “very aggressive campaign” to ensure all acute trusts give patients the ability to make appointments and receive messages online. 

Details of the new “national requirement” which must be met by the end of 2023-24 were sent by NHS England to acute trust chief information officers on Friday.

NHSE wants all trust portals to integrate with the NHS App to enable patients to manage outpatient appointments and respond to messages through a single channel. 

Under NHSE’s requirements, the portals must:

• Enable patients to view their outpatient appointments;
• Enable the trust to send a waiting list validation questionnaire to patients;
• Provide patients with a single point of access to contact the provider, for example to cancel appointments; and
• Enable patients to access their correspondence from the trust.

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Source: HSJ, 31 March 2023