Black Country Integrated Care System (ICS) is deploying a new patient engagement portal using a platform from Healthcare Communications.
The system is already live at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, and a final implementation at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is due to follow by the end of 2025.
Each trust is using the platform to deliver digital appointment letters and attachments directly to people’s smartphones for them to book, change or cancel their appointments.
Healthcare Communications said that so far around 500,000 digital letter invitations have been sent through the platform, helping to reduce the number of ‘did not attends’ and wasted slots.
Improving experience
It was first deployed at The Dudley Group late last year.
The trust’s applications support specialist and registrations authority manager, Gina Vowles, said: “Our fundamental driver was to improve patient experience by offering people more choice and flexibility for how they receive and engage with correspondence.
“I’m pleased to share that the successful implementation has secured additional funding to extend the portal functionality by introducing e-forms, waiting list validation and patient initiated follow up.”
