Outpatients emerges into the digital age

DigitalHealth.London has been working with NHS Improvement, NHS trusts and the Academic Health Science Networks to help bring outpatients into the digital age.

With around 100 million outpatient appointments taking place every year, it’s clear that the adoption of digital technology can help to reduce pressure on outpatient services, improve patient experience and save NHS resources.  

The London trusts taking part in our digital outpatient collaboratives are making great progress to expedite transformation in their areas. At the same time we have been working closely with NHS Improvement and the 15 Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) to set up regional workshops for trusts to come together and share their digital outpatient experiences and solutions.  

Final showcase for London collaboratives  

We are looking forward to welcoming the two digital outpatients collaborative teams back for our final event on 7 June at Coin Street Conference Centre, on the Southbank. Teams will present their results and the lessons learned over the past three months of project work. Attendees will also hear about patient involvement, spread and sustainability and the best way to communicate their project successes. Please contact Jess Parsons to find out more. 

Leeds hosts first regional outpatient workshop 

Regional workshops commenced on 24 May at the Studio in Leeds. Hosted by Yorkshire and Humber AHSN, the event attracted around 90 delegates from 23 trusts together with selected digital suppliers. Highlights included case studies from Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where postal costs have reduced by 50 percent through their work with Healthcare Communications, and Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s pre-appointment digital forms, developed with Aire Logic, that have helped to create more meaningful consultations.

See highlights from the Leeds Digital Outpatients Workshop.

Further events, sponsored by NHS Improvement and hosted by AHSNs, will take place in Reading on 22 June, Manchester on 2 July and Birmingham on 24 September. These invitation-only workshops will provide opportunities for joint working between trusts and the sharing of best practice. If you want to find out more about how to unblock barriers to digital transformation and deliver solutions to streamline processes and improve patient experience contact Catherine Harulow for more information.