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Patients Know Best

Patients Know Best (PKB) is our online patient portal being gradually introduced to give you access to some of the information we hold in our IT systems. Information from PKB also feeds into the NHS App, making it easy for you to view your health information online, at any time.

The portal is free to use, and your personal information is stored securely. You can choose to share your PKB record safely with people involved in your care, such as your GP, pharmacist, family members, or carers.

If you’re an EPUT patient aged 16 or older, you can access appointment information and digital copies of appointment letters from some of our outpatient mental health services via the PKB portal and NHS App.

Once you have registered for a PKB account, you will get an automated email notification from [email protected] when new information is added to your record. Updates will be available to view in both the NHS App and the PKB portal.

Accessing Patients Know Best

The PKB web-based portal is free and easy to use from any digital device that can access the internet – a PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you have not used PKB before, you register and login to PKB using your NHS login. If you do not have an NHS login, you can create one at any time.

NHS Login
Information:

You need to be 16 years or older to register for a PKB account via the NHS App. The NHS App is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on a smartphone or tablet and is available to all patients aged 13 and over who are registered with a GP practice in England.

You can access PKB two ways:

  • The PKB web-based portal is free and easy to use from any digital device that can access the internet – a PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
  • PKB is also integrated with the NHS App, which makes it easy for you to access your health information whenever and from wherever you like.

What to expect

We’re excited to launch Patients Know Best, but it’s important to understand that information is being added to your portal gradually.

This means that at the beginning, you may not see any of your health information in your portal. You can expect to see more information added over time, and you will receive an automatic notification when more information becomes available.

While you wait for us to add information to your personal record, you can still claim your Patients Know Best and start using several of its features. These include:

  • adding your own data
  • tracking medication
  • adding allergy information
  • linking wearable devices (e.g. smart watches)
  • log health measurements

We’re also working closely with clinical teams to introduce extra features and see how Patients Know Best can enhance your outpatient experience. We will gradually roll out these features over time.

Learn more about Patients Know Best and what to expect with this helpful video.

Locations of mental health services using PKB

Outpatient mental health services that are sharing appointment details into PKB are based at the following locations:

  • Basildon: Basildon Mental Health Unit
  • Billericay: Mountnessing Court
  • Brentwood: Brentwood Resource Centre, Heath Close
  • Canvey Island: Sydervelt Centre
  • Castlepoint: Knightswick Clinic
  • Rayleigh: Coombewood Resource Centre
  • Rochford: Rochford Hospital (Main Building), Rochford Hospital Ashingdon House.
  • Southend: Harland Centre
  • Thurrock: Grays Hall

Please speak to your healthcare team if you are unsure if your appointment details are included.

Your information in PKB

It’s of utmost importance that we maintain accurate and up-to-date records for our patients. To do this, we continue to update your records in the portal as soon as new information is added based on your most recent activity with EPUT.

You will receive instant notifications whenever there’s new information in your PKB record by [email protected]. These emails are secure and are not spam.

Please contact [email protected] if you come across any inaccuracies in your records. We kindly ask that you include your NHS number in the email so that we can identify you in our databases.

Controlling access to your record

You have control over who can access your PKB record. If you wish to, you can securely share your PKB information digitally with those who are helping care for you, such as your GP, pharmacist, family members, carers, or anyone else that is supporting you. You can share your entire record, or just parts of it and you can change your mind and remove access at any time.

Read more about Sharing your record with a family member, friend, carer or professional.

Making sure data is secure

PKB complies with all national standards for health data security. It also undergoes rigorous testing. It is also fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Only the minimum level of data necessary to verify you has been uploaded. All personal and health information stored is encrypted.

Further help

A PKB user manual is available in the Patient Knows Best manual. This offers detailed guidance on a wide variety of topics and functionality. A link to this manual is conveniently located at the top of the PKB portal as well, for easy access. Here are some shortcuts to guidance we think you may find useful:

If you have a question that has not been answered above, please email [email protected].

Viewing outpatient mental health appointments and letters

You can now view appointment details from some of our outpatient mental health services in PKB. Only appointments scheduled to take place within the next three weeks will be shown.

Details will include the name of the consultant, specialty, date, and time of the appointment. For face-to-face appointments, the address will be included. Otherwise, the appointment type, such as home visit or telephone, will be displayed. This information will be automatically updated shortly after it is scheduled in our patient appointment systems.

Appointment details will be displayed in the diary section of the portal. You can see examples of how these will look in the online portal, and in the NHS App.

Digital copies of appointment letters from some of our outpatient mental health services are now available in the PKB portal. If you’re aged 16 or over, you will be able to access your appointment letters shortly after they’ve been prepared.

Your appointment letter will include important information such as the date, time, and location of your appointment. It will appear in the events and messages section of the PKB portal, allowing you to easily refer to it whenever needed.

If your appointment is amended or cancelled and a new letter is sent, you will also see this in PKB. The most recent version will be clearly marked.