Our services
Digital letters
About the service
We’re working to improve the way we communicate with you. Some of our services now offer you the option to receive important information, like appointment and outcome letters digitally via your smartphone, tablet or computer.
If this is available for your service, you will receive an email from our Trust asking you to register for our new patient portal called Patients Know Best (PKB). The email will have a registration link for you to use to register with Patients Know Best.
- receive your letter quickly, no need to wait for your post, and,
- help our Trust to ‘go green’, reducing postage and paper costs.
Use the tabs below to explore this section further.
If you wish to receive digital letters
To receive digital letters from us via your smartphone, tablet or computer you have two options:
- Register with Patients Know Best (PKB) to view letters from us on the PKB patient engagement platform (you will not receive notifications), or
- Register with the Patients Know Best and the NHS App (download via the Apple App Store or on Google Play) so that you receive notifications that you have letters from us on the PKB patient engagement platform.
How to register to receive digital letters
Not all of Bradford District Care Trust’s services currently offer the option to receive appointment and outcome letters digitally. If the service you are using does offer this option, you will be sent an email or text with a link to first register with Patients Know Best.
Registering with Patients Know Best
You must register with Patients Know Best to receive digital letters from us via either the PKB portal or the NHS App.
Find out more about Patients know best here.
Find out how to register with Patients Know Best here.
Once you have registered you will be able to log in using your smartphone, tablet or computer to view your appointment or outcome letters online.
If you wish to be notified of letters from us and use all the benefits of the NHS App you also need to register for the NHS App and link the NHS App with Patients Know Best – this is easy and quick to do.
Registering with the NHS App
If you have not yet downloaded the NHS App, simply search for ‘NHS App’ in the App Store or Google Play and follow the instructions – or click the buttons below.
If you don’t have a smart device you can also sign up and access the service via a web browser.
Once you have the NHS App follow the instructions below to link it to Patients Know Best.
Linking the NHS App to Patients Know Best
To receive notifications that you have digital letters from us and get access to those letters via the NHS App you need to follow some further steps:
- open ‘Messages’ in the NHS App and select ‘consultations, events and messages’.
- a message will open asking if you agree to share your NHS login information with Patients Know Best. Click ‘I agree’.
- register with your email address, a strong password and a security question.
- accept the privacy agreement and click the ‘Register’ button.
- you’re all set – next time you log into the NHS App you will be able to see both your GP and BDCT appointment information.
Get full details on accessing Patients know Best using the NHS App.
Benefits of registering to receive digital letters
Whether you choose to register with both the NHS App and Patients Know best, or just Patients Know Best you will benefit from:
- access to a secure online space to view any letters relating to your care
- access to your information on any internet-enabled device, anywhere, anytime
- the ability to cancel or request to reschedule your appointment without having to call us – giving you more choice and control over your care
- the option (if you wish) to share this information with family, carers and other health professionals
- the knowledge that you are helping Bradford District Care Trust to reduce the amount of paper we use, so we can reduce our impact on the environment, as well as helping to lower our postage costs by reducing the number of letters sent, freeing up NHS budget for other uses.
FAQs
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Yes, it’s free to register and easy to use.
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If you read your digital letter in the patient portal, before your appointment date, a paper letter may not be sent to your address. Your digital letter will be available to you at any time by signing into your Patients Know Best (PKB) account. Digital letters which are not read in the portal will be sent by post.
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Yes. you can only use one unique email address per registration. You can’t use a family/carer shared email, if your family/carer already uses that email for their own Patients Know Best (PKB) account. If you registered using the NHS App, it will automatically use the email address linked to that account.
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You will need an internet enabled device and an internet connection on your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone to access your information in the patient portal.
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Once you are registered, you can access your digital letters through the Patients Know Best website: https://my.patientsknowbest.com/
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Some patients may not have any information in their records when they first register, however this will change over time. You can still add your own information, such as tracking your symptoms or recording any medication you take.
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If you receive some health services from a different NHS Trust, then you may already be signed up for Patients Know Best (PKB) and can continue to use the same log in details.
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As a patient of Bradford District Care Trust, we will continue to hold responsibility for your data. You can choose to opt-out at any time. We use Patients Know Best (PKB) software. This meets NHS requirements for health record systems and is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Only the minimum level of data needed has been uploaded. All personal and health information stored is encrypted to help make it more secure.
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If you have changed your email address, please follow the instructions on how to update your email for your PKB account. Please also contact BDCT’s podiatry service on 01274 221165 to tell us your new email and/or postal address so we can update our records.
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If you have a question about your podiatry letter, please call 01274 221165.
For technical issues only, please email the technical team at Patients Know Best help@patientsknowbest.com, or complete this form. Do not share any personal or clinical information with the team at PKB.