PIFU saves 29,000 appointments in one year
Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU), an NHS England pilot that enables patients to book their follow-up appointments digitally, has avoided more than 29,000 unnecessary out-patients appointments in one year.
One year into the project, 31,862 patients with chronic conditions or who have had surgery or treatment, are on a PIFU pathway. Of these, 2,389 (7%) have booked an appointment, saving at least 29,473 appointments in one year, freeing appointments for those who need them most.
Routine follow-up appointments can be inconvenient, stressful and an unnecessary expense for patients. Through PIFU, they can decide if they need an appointment and request it via the DrDoctor app at a convenient date and time. Patients have welcomed the changes, with an average of 4.2/5 patient feedback rating.
Clinicians across 30 specialties can remotely monitor their patients on PIFU pathways. Infinity Health’s task management platform integrates with our Patient Administration System (PAS) to send assessment forms to appropriate patients at regular intervals decided by each specialty, and clinicians can efficiently review these and prioritise patients safely.
Patients who do not engage are identified to ensure that they are catered for, mitigating the clinical risk as no patients are lost to follow-up.
“Our partnership with Infinity Health and DrDoctor is already having a positive impact on patients and clinicians,” said Chris Cobb, Chief Operating Officer.
“Patients tell us that they feel in control of their condition and can communicate with their clinical teams more easily. We are working hard to ensure even more patients benefit from PIFU.”