Lost Letters? The real cost of communication errors in the NHS
News
Mar 5th, 2024
The NHS is no stranger to pressure. But, with increased budget cuts, a growing elective backlog and significant infrastructure failures, the weight is continuing to pile on. What’s more, some of the pressures the NHS is currently juggling still get little to no airtime - making them much harder challenges to resolve.
One of these lesser reported challenges that the NHS is currently grappling with, is communications challenges between NHS trusts and patients. To put this into context for you, according to a report by the Patients Association, more than half (55%) of people have experienced poor communication from the NHS in the past five years and one in ten say their care has been affected as a result.
These are the communication errors that often originate from a poor adoption of digital technology - leaving patients searching for referrals, receiving late diagnoses and even missing appointments, with some appointment notifications never arriving.
This isn’t a minor error that we can turn a blind eye to. Poor communication can be catastrophic when it comes to patient safety. The BBC this week reported that a three-year-old child missed the appointment for his surgery due to letters unsent by the Royal Mail, which has left him suffering and put undue stress on his family.
It’s time the communications gap is closed - and to do this, a complete overhaul of the system is necessary. For patients to truly take more control over their own care, we need to embrace a more hybrid healthcare system. But what does this look like in reality?
Making the shift to a hybrid healthcare model.
I believe the future of healthcare is hybrid. This is not entirely remote and not entirely in-person. But it’s a method that can be applied to reduce the waitlists.
It can also be a solution to the challenges the NHS is currently facing when it comes to communication errors. Having a one-stop-shop that maintains updated electronic patient records and also facilitates appointment booking is the perfect communications assistant.
By automating administrative processes - whether it’s highlighting new appointment slots in real time or managing new referrals - staff will be required to do much less admin. Not only will this free up clinician time, but it’ll empower patients to manage their own care from the comfort of their own home.
One of the things we talk about when it comes to empowering patients to do just this, is the Patient Initiated Follow-Up (PIFU) pathway. This is when a patient can reach out to their doctor when they have a symptom change to book in for an appointment as and when necessary.
Most importantly, these patients are void of potential communication errors, because they have much more control and can check in on a needs basis.
Utilising AI to Combat DNAs
Digitising services like this can feel intimidating before you get going. But it doesn’t have to be. Technology when it comes to healthcare should be seen as a helping hand, not a hindrance.
Another way technology can be used to reduce communication errors is by applying AI to the appointment booking process.
AI can be a game changer when it comes to reducing the number of appointments logged as Did Not Attend. DNAs are still at a high rate, but AI can automatically bring together information about patient records, past behaviour, and spot patterns of DNA behaviour to predict which patients are less likely to show up. The benefit is that it can support hospitals in sending out reminders, or notifying patients of new slot availability, getting more patients through the door, faster.
Ultimately, top quality patient care starts with clear communication. In order to solve the larger issues facing the NHS today, we must begin by sorting its fundamentals. Transitioning to a hybrid healthcare system and adopting AI to smooth the process, is a step in the right direction to avoiding communication errors that could cost lives.
By Tom Whicher, CEO of DrDoctor
No comments posted...
Site Copyright HealthMatters
