Development Update – Adding SMS functionality to Patients Know Best

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Patients Know Best (PKB) is adding text message (SMS) functionality next month. In a phased approach, we will start by sending SMS messages to unregistered patients alongside our email notifications to registered patients when a new referral letter is received.  The addition directly supports the NHS eMeet and Greet initiative as well as encouraging overall platform registration.
The new SMS functionality serves as a notification which informs the patient that their referral has been received and onboards them into their PKB record.  This reassures them that their care is being actively managed and reduces the need for additional enquiries, including avoiding unnecessary phone calls to the NHS.

Sending eMeet & Greet SMS

An example of an SMS notification for eMeet & Greet
An example of an SMS notification for eMeet & Greet

PKB will only send SMS notifications for new referrals if all the following conditions are met: 

  1. The organisation has enabled the SMS referral flow 
  2. The organisation sent a new referral letter to the patient via HL7  (HL7 MDM T02 with the document type in TXA-2 marked as RL (Referral letter)
  3. The patient’s record has a mobile number but the patient has not registered 
  4. The patient is aged 16 or over 

SMS remains a widely used and reliable means of reaching users, especially in situations where internet connectivity may be limited or unreliable. By incorporating SMS functionality, PKB can offer organisations a way to increase engagement and ensure that critical messages are delivered promptly.

To use this feature, the organisation must register for a GOV.UK Notify account then configure PKB to send from this account. GOV.UK offers up to 40,000 free text messages per year, per service.

Roadmap

Once SMS for eMeet & Greet is live, we will expand to other events to act as SMS triggers as part of our future roadmap for all users regardless of registration status.


This will include the use of SMS to prompt patients to complete a questionnaire or remind them of upcoming appointments.  It means a typical hospital customer can rely on PKB to reach all patients for whom they have a mobile phone number, usually about 90% of all patients.

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