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Bringing Patient Data Together: How Patient Relationship Management Platforms are Transforming NHS Experience and Efficiency

28th August 2024

With over seven million people on waiting lists and 65-week waits still over 90,000, connecting the dots on patient data remains a crucial aim for today’s over-stretched NHS. Behind the scenes of these spiralling lists, outpatient service centre agents often have to grapple with multiple systems, manual processes and disjointed data when dealing with patient enquiries – leading to a lack of visibility, audit trails and status updates. For the patient, this means prolonged call times, high volumes of repeat calls and heightened anxiety whilst they wait for a response.

What’s more, the disconnect between different systems, Trusts and other organisations involved in the healthcare journey (such as social care), continues to drive inefficiency and unnecessary waste. All too often we are seeing patients not attending appointments due to ineffective communication and not turning up, or patient transport still turning up when an appointment has been cancelled. Events such as these are not only costing the NHS financially and in terms of resource, but it is also having a damaging impact on the patient experience, and ultimately – patient outcome.

Breaking the cycle

Over time a vicious cycle of inconvenience and inefficiency has been created, leaving patients feeling frustrated by having to wait to have their enquiries resolved. Often, additional stress is placed on service centre agents who are facing the brunt of this. Patients are frequently passed around in the process fuelling this frustration further, whilst other requests end up in an operational black hole – remaining unresolved.

So, what is the answer?

By bringing all relevant sources of patient data together into one single view, NHS Trusts and their service centre agents can be equipped with the information they need to transform experience and efficiency within the NHS. Known as a Patient Relationship Management (PRM) system, solutions of this kind present the appropriate patient information in a meaningful way to assist with outpatient administration. Faster access to information means better response times, and a better experience for both patients and NHS staff, offering an opportunity to break the vicious cycle of patient frustration, stress for agents and operational inefficiencies.

One view to rule them all

Having an immediate contextually relevant view of the patient when receiving an inbound enquiry can save 60 or more seconds per call – a significant time saving for outpatient service centres grappling with the waiting list backlog. This will not only create additional capacity in service centres, but can also provide a consolidation opportunity to support further service improvement and transformation initiatives in the future.

Forming a more holistic view of the patient can also ensure better attendance rates for appointments that are necessary. This can be achieved by taking a closer look at patient demographics and being aware of personal situations when arranging/setting appointments initially.

Insight into action

Knowledge is key when it comes to dealing with patient enquiries, however, there must also be workflows in place to turn that knowledge into action. Effectively configured workflows can enable follow-up tasks to be completed in just a few clicks, whilst the consolidation of these activities into a central view removes the need to rely on ad-hoc emails. By adding this layer of structure, service agents – and patients – can be confident that next steps are followed up on and actioned in a timely manner.

That’s where PRM systems built via low-code platforms that easily integrate with other tools and technologies such as RPA can be particularly effective. Integration of this kind can allow the automation of onward tasks for further quality, performance and efficiency improvements. Unlike traditional Enterprise CRM systems which require a long program of analysis, design, build and deployment, PRM systems built via low-code platforms, that accelerate development, can deliver immediate benefits as well as long-term improvements.

A streamlined future

With patient referrals continuing to run significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, the intense pressure felt by NHS service centres is unlikely to slow down anytime soon. Especially given that the NHS’s Elective Recovery Priorities focus on better patient engagement and re-focusing capacity toward new patients.

This will certainly have an impact on the agents operating on the frontline – many of whom are already at risk of burnout and dissatisfaction. Equipping these agents with the right tools and platforms to work smarter and more successfully, therefore, must be a priority.

The same can be said for patient experience, despite efforts to reduce current NHS waiting list, it is likely to be a reality we will live in for some time. Focus should be placed on ensuring that patients are waiting well, and that when they reach out they are left reassured, rather than being faced with additional stress as a result of broken and disconnected systems.

NHS Trusts must work towards a streamlined future focused on improving the patient and employee experience. Technology will act as the foundation of this future, with PRM systems at the very heart.