Digital appointment comms for Lincolnshire’s hospitals

New digital technology is being introduced in Lincolnshire’s hospitals that will allow patients to receive appointment letters directly to their mobile phone via text.

The new electronic patient letters will be issued to all patients who have registered a mobile phone number with the hospital, with the new system likely to improve patient experience as they will be able to confirm, cancel or arrange to rebook their appointment with one click. Once confirmed, the appointment can be added directly into the patient’s digital calendar, helping to reduce the risk of forgetting their appointment.

Some patients will start to receive their appointments using the new system from the end of September. By the end of January 2019, all patient appointments will be received digitally, if preferred.

Kelly Wymer, ICT project manager at ULHT, said: “We are really excited to launch this new system. It will make the appointment process easier for our patients giving them all the information they need at their fingertips. The system is interactive, enabling instant control to accept, cancel or rearrange appointments, as well as the ability to translate the letters in to multiple languages. Overall it is a better, much smoother system which will enhance the patient experience.”