The NHS App - what it can do

The NHS App gives you a simple and secure way to see parts of your GP health record and your Homerton Healthcare hospital records. This includes your appointments, letters and test results. Having the NHS App means that you can access all this information on your smartphone or tablet.

The NHS App is developed by NHS England. It is designed to be a ‘digital front door’ to the NHS, hopefully reducing the need to have multiple apps to support your health journey. 

DrDoctor and Patients Know Best are software companies who have developed the part of the NHS App which gives you online access to some of the information we hold on our hospital systems. 

Other hospitals across England are also working with Patients Know Best. This means you can see parts of your health records from other hospitals in one secure place, via the NHS App. 
 

You can sign up for Patients Know Best through the NHS App or through the Patients Know Best website.

Patients over 16 can both register and log in to Patients Know Best using their NHS login - the same email address and password that you use to log into the NHS App. NHS login allows you to access lots of different health and care websites and apps with just one email address and password.

If you do not have an existing NHS login, you will be prompted to create one after entering your email on the NHS login sign in page. NHS Digital have published a video and step by step guide on how patients can do this here. You have two options for logging in:
Option 1: using your NHS login from the NHS App
Option 2: Using your NHS Login from the PKB Patients Know Best website  

 

Option 1: using your NHS login from the NHS App

This step by step guide is for people who want to register with Patients Know Best. Patients must be over 16 years old to register via NHS Login in the NHS App. The NHS App is available on Apple and Android

 

You can also use the NHS App website

Registration complete!

Once registered, you will be taken to the area of PKB you selected to go to from the NHS App in step 5 (in this guide, it was Lab Test Results). A welcome email will be sent to your email address.
You no longer have to manually sign in when navigating to PKB from the NHS App, your NHS login can now do this for you.
You can also log in directly to PKB from a web browser using your email address & the password you just created.
 

Option 2: Using your NHS Login from the PKB Patients Know Best website 
This step by step guide is for patients people who wish want to register for a new or existing Patients Know Best record. Patients must be over 16 years old to register via NHS Login. See slides 4-5 on PPT.

Once registered, you will be able to see future Homerton acute service appointment information, letters from the hospital including; discharge letters and clinical letters, and results from blood tests requested by Homerton Healthcare. The Trust is working hard on introducing more information about your health and care including forms and questionnaires.

This health record is held and led by you, meaning that you can add your own information if you wish, such as tracking your symptoms, recording medications you are taking, or make notes to monitor your condition.

DrDoctor and Patients Know Best are compliant with the NHS network, so it’s just as secure as the information your healthcare providers already hold on you. However, it's unique because it also gives you, the patient, access to your information via any web-enabled device. Patient information is encrypted (or coded) and only people who have permission to view your information can do so.

We encrypt data in both transit (i.e. when the information comes in and out) and storage.

Yes. you can only use one unique email address per registration e.g. you can’t use a family shared email if your family/friend already uses that email for their PKB account.   If you are registering via the NHSApp, it will automatically use the email address associated with that account.

Patients Know Best (PKB) develop and supply the feature of the NHS App which shows your appointment information. PKB will send notifications to you via email when there is information added to your record, such as an appointment which has been booked, a clinic letter has been added or you have been invited to complete a questionnaire by a clinical service. Email notifications are sent from no-reply-uk@patientsknowbest.com.

You do not need to reply to the email, it is simply letting you know there has been something added to your record.

You can access your Patients Know Best record through the NHS App on any smartphone, tablet, or desktop device. Download the NHS App in the App Store or Google Play, or visit the NHS app website.

Yes. This is an online service and will require you, or a carer, to have regular internet access to receive your correspondence via the system and to use the additional features.

Any future appointments for acute services at Homerton information should show immediately in the NHS app, DrDocotor and PKB when an appointment has been booked.  We have plans in the future for appointments for community and mental health services to be included soon.

You can view information upcoming and past Homerton Healthcare hospital appointments booked from October 2023 on the NHS App.

To see appointment information in the NHS App

1. Click on 'Appointments' from the NHS homepage 2. Scroll down and Click on 'Hospital and specialist appointments' in the sub menu	2. Click on the appointment you wish to view.	3. Click ‘Continue’to be directed the the DrDoctor ‘View appointment page’ with further appointment details	4. You will land in the DrDoctor ‘View appointment page’

 

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Using the NHS App you can find digital copies of clinic letters, which are posted to you after a hospital appointment, and discharge summary documents which are given to you when you leave the hospital after being an inpatient, or being seen in A&E.

How to find these documents

1. On the NHS App homepage, click on 'View your messages' from the homepage or 'Messages' in the navigation menu	2. Click on 'Your hospital and specialist doctors'	3.  Click 'Continue'	You will land on the PKB ‘Events & messages page’	Example of a document in PKB via NHS App

 

You can see the results of the blood tests which were requested by a doctor or clinician at Homerton Healthcare. The majority of results will be available to access in your online record in the NHS App within 5 working days after your blood test, however, please be advised that some results can take up to 8 weeks.

Your clinician will review these results and will discuss them with you if your treatment plan needs to change.

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1. On the NHS App homepage, click on ‘Test results’	2. Click on 'Hospital-ordered test results'	3. Click ‘Continue’	4. You will get to the PKB Tests page where you will find your blood test results	5.You will land on the PKB Tests page

 

Follow the instructions in this guide -  What will my blood results look like in PKB.pdf

The results in your Patient Knows Best record are for tests ordered by Homerton Healthcare clinicians. Your clinician will review these results and will discuss them with you if your treatment plan needs to change.

All patients in the UK have the right to see their own test results, however test results are not always created with patients in mind and can sometimes be confusing and difficult to understand, especially where there are many different results for one blood test.

Results may be numerical or text. Example A in this guide - What do my blood results mean.pdf shows how a numerical result will appear in your PKB record, and Example B is an shows a text result.

Important things to consider:

• It is important to learn what's 'normal for you', this is particularly important if you have a long-term physical health condition, as your results may be different to other people's. 
• A test result outside the range may not indicate a problem, these are just reference ranges.
• Equally, if all results are within the reference range, this does not completely guarantee there isn’t a concern.
• Not all results are returned to us at the same time, the Homerton Healthcare clinician who requested the blood test may be waiting for further results before contacting you. 
• Comments may have been added automatically by a laboratory computer or by a laboratory scientist or doctor. Generally, comments are written for the doctor or clinician requesting the test rather than the patient, and so they may not be very meaningful to you.
• It is important to follow the advice of your Homerton Healthcare doctor or healthcare professional, they will review your result and contact you within an appropriate if your treatment plan needs to be changed.

You will be able to see the reports from scans which were requested by a doctor or clinician at Homerton Healthcare. 
The scan reports will be available to access in your online record in the NHS App 28 days after the report has been finalised by the radiologist.

A placeholder will appear in your PKB record before the results, as shown below.  This is simply to inform you that the results are being reviewed by a radiologist and when you will be able to access your result.

 You can follow the below guide to find your imaging report in PKB

 You can follow the below guide to find your imaging report in PKB

1. On the NHS App homepage, click on  ‘Test results’	2. Click on 'Hospital-ordered test results'	3. Click ‘Continue’	4. Click 'Imaging reports'	5. You will land on the PKB Imaging page

Radiology imaging report

Your clinician sometimes uses medical imaging to diagnose and treat diseases they think you may have. A radiologist is a doctor who supervises these exams, reads and interprets the images, and writes a report for your clinician. This report may contain complex words and information. You clinician will discuss your report with you at your next appointment.
Important things to consider when accessing your test results:

• the radiologist writes the report for the clinician who requested the exam. Typically, the radiologist sends the report to the person who ordered your test, who then delivers the results to you.
• the radiologist may write the report using medical terms that your clinician will understand. However, these terms may be confusing for you as a patient.
• it is important to follow the advice of your Homerton Healthcare doctor or healthcare professional, they will review your report, talk to you about your results and explain what happens next.

We want to make sure that the NHS App meets the needs of our patients, so hearing your feedback is very important to us. To work together with you on this journey, there are a number of ways you get involved - taking part in research, joining our People’s Panel for Digital Health, or becoming a Digital Support Volunteer. If you would like to get involved, then please complete this form.

You may email any feedback or questions to huh-tr.pkb@nhs.net

For any technical web issues, please contact the Patients Know Best team at help@patientsknowbest.com. This is not linked to Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, so please do not share any personal or clinical information in this email.