Earlier this month, Patients Know Best (PKB) and St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS) – Ireland’s largest independent, not-for-profit mental health service provider, went live with a three-year strategic partnership that will give service users in Ireland digital access and control of their health data for the first time.
This marks PKB’s first contract in the Republic of Ireland – and our first mental health only deployment. The service was rolled out in July 2020 to support the wider clinical transformation programme. It sees an organisation-wide deployment throughout SPMHS of the Patients Know Best digital platform – the most deployed personal health record (PHR) in the UK, designed for real-time access to shared health records.
Locally known as ‘Your Portal’, the platform aims to empower service users at SPMHS by bringing together information from service users and healthcare providers into one secure place. For the first time, this will provide online access to their health record to view appointment details, receive messages from their care team, complete forms contributing to their care and treatment and access links to information and resources. Service users will also have the choice to share their records with other healthcare providers or those involved in their care such as family members, GP’s or carers.
Orla Gogarty, Director of Digital Health at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, said: “Guided by a strong human rights framework, we are committed to the development and integration of innovative, safe and reliable technologies that empower service users to access, and engage in, their care and treatment. Enabling service users to have access to their own health information in real-time will transform how service users participate with, and use, our services, facilitating them to take an active role in their journey to recovery. Our new portal will offer greater convenience to service users, and ultimately enable us, as an organisation, to explore new technology-centred approaches to mental health treatment.”
Founded over 270 years ago, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services is committed to the development of new mental health treatment and prevention services to meet the needs of its service users nationally. The specialist hospital provides a wide range of pioneering treatment programmes, outpatient clinics and approved centres across Ireland – delivering 12% of the country’s total in-patient care and treatment needs.
Sally Rennison, VP of Sales at Patients Know Best, added: “We’re delighted to announce our partnership with St Patrick’s – a team that is serious about being digital leaders, led solely with service users at the heart of their ambitions. This aligns with our purpose and mission at PKB to empower service users and professionals with shared access to data for improved care.”
The Patients Know Best platform is used in more than 60 hospitals in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. The deployment at St Patrick’s is the first of its kind in Ireland, leveraging technology-enabled services to respond to mental health service needs in the country.
Patients Know Best is a certified B Corporation and a social enterprise with a central mission to empower people with the information and tools to better understand and manage their health and care, for greater independence and prevention, no matter where they are.
In a first, patients will be given access to their own health records online
Ireland’s first-ever ‘portal’ to allow patients to view and amend their health records online has been launched by St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS).
Described as “a secure, online platform”, the Your Portal programme will enable SPMHS service users to access their health records remotely.
“Your Portal aims to empower service users by providing online access to record, share and view their own health-related information using a computer, smartphone or tablet,” a spokesperson said.
“Service users will also have the choice to share their records with other healthcare providers or supporters who are involved in their care such as family members, GP or carer.”
Three years ago, SPMHS was the first healthcare provider in Ireland to introduce a fully integrated electronic health record – and the new portal was in keeping with the recently updated national mental healthcare strategy Sharing the Vision, the spokesman added,
SPMHS Medical Director Prof Paul Fearon said involving service users in their recovery was crucial to positive clinical outcomes.
“Guided by a strong human rights framework, we are committed, as part of our strategy, to developing infrastructure that will empower service users to be involved in their care and treatment,” Prof Fearon said.
“This new portal will transform how service users participate with, and use, our services, facilitating them to take an active role in their journey to recovery.”
Orla Gogarty, Director of Digital Health at St Patrick’s added: “Enabling service users to have access to their own health information in real time through enabling technology is transformational and empowering. Our key focus is the continuous development and integration of innovative, safe and reliable technologies which support our service users to access and engage in their treatment and recovery.”
“Our new portal will offer greater convenience to service users and will ultimately enable us to pursue new technology approaches in this rapidly developing and exciting area of mental health treatment,” she added.
Sean Fitzpatrick, member of the Service User Advisory Network of St Patrick’s, said service users were involved with the Your Portal project from the “very beginning”.
“From functionalities such as being able to share information with friends and family when in need of support, it is clear that the portal places service users at its core and will empower them in their recovery journey,” he said.
Your Portal will be rolled out in phases this month.
During the first phase, SPMHS service users will be able to view appointment details, receive messages from their care team, complete forms contributing to their care and treatment, and access links to other resources and websites providing helpful information.
Eventually, SPMHS service users will be able to view diagnosis and medication information; access assessments and forms; watch informational videos; and monitor mood, sleep and/or eating patterns and similar, and discuss these with their clinician.
St Patrick’s Mental Health Services launches Patient Portal
St Patrick’s Mental Health Services in Ireland, has launched a service user portal, an online platform that enables service users to access their own health-related information.
Using technology from Patients Know Best the portal will provide service users online access to record, share and view their own health information. Service users will have the choice to share their records with other healthcare providers or supporters who are involved in their care, such as family members, GP or carers.
The project forms part of the updated national mental healthcare strategy, Sharing the Vision, which sets out a greater usage of digital health interventions in its policy objectives.
Professor Paul Fearon, Medical Director said: “Involving service users in their recovery is crucial to positive clinical outcomes. Guided by a strong human rights framework, we are committed, as part of our strategy, to developing infrastructure that will empower service users to be involved in their care and treatment.”
“This new portal will transform how service users participate with, and use, our services, facilitating them to take an active role in their journey to recovery.”
Orla Gogarty, Director of Digital Health, said “Enabling service users to have access to their own health information in real time through enabling technology is transformational and empowering. Our key focus is the continuous development and integration of innovative, safe and reliable technologies which support our service users to access and engage in their treatment and recovery.”
“Our new portal will offer greater convenience to service users, and will ultimately enable us to pursue new technology approaches in this rapidly developing and exciting area of mental health treatment.”
The portal will be rolled out from this month, with the first phase to enable service users to view appointment details, receive messages from their care team, complete forms contributing to their care and treatment, and access links to other resources and websites providing helpful information.
Once the system is rolled out, users can see key information shared from their electronic health record by their team, such as diagnosis, medication prescribed during care and some test results. They will also be able to access additional assessments and forms, view informational videos and be able to monitor and track mood, sleep or eating patterns and similar, enabling service users to discuss these as required during their appointment with their clinician.
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