Patients Know Best (PKB)

Future appointment information from most of our outpatient services is shared with patients digitally via PKB. This information also feeds into the NHS App. Past appointments will not be included in PKB, and for the time being, only appointments confirmed in our main hospital systems will be available.

The specialty, date and time of your appointment will be confirmed in PKB and the NHS App. Where possible, the location of your appointment will also be shared, however you should refer to your appointment letter to check this information. Some appointments may also confirm the name of the consultant who your appointment is scheduled with. 

There’s no need to call the hospital to confirm your attendance at an appointment – your attendance is presumed, unless you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment. You will continue to receive either a printed appointment letter in the post, or a telephone call or SMS confirming your full appointment information,  including the location of your appointment. It may take up to two weeks after your appointment information is available in the PKB system for you to receive an appointment letter in the post. 

If an appointment is changed or cancelled, this information will also be made available in PKB and it will be clear to the patient which information is most recent. 

Appointments may be changed or cancelled for various reasons, including if they were sent to PKB in error. Cancelled appointments will remain visible in your PKB record and will be marked with a red ‘Cancelled’ label. If you have any questions regarding a cancelled appointment, please contact one of our centres, where our staff will be happy to assist you:

• Basildon: 0300 443 0101
• Broomfield: 0300 443 0103
• Southend: 0300 443 0105

For the time-being, appointments will be view-only in PKB and the NHS App. In the future, we plan to add functionality that allows patients to change or cancel their appointments online and view their entire appointment letter digitally. 

Inpatient discharge letters are the documents you receive after an overnight stay at hospital, outlining your treatment and future care needs. The digital copy will be the same as the printed version you receive (it won’t replace it) and saved in the Events & Messages section of the PKB portal.

For the time being, inpatient discharge letters for our maternity and emergency departments will not be included on PKB.  

If you have not used PKB before, you can both register and login to PKB using your NHS login. If you do not have an NHS login, you can create one at https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/online-services/nhs-login.

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.

Once you are logged in, the PKB registration page will appear, and you will be prompted to create a password.

After you have registered, you can access the portal using the same  https://my.patientsknowbest.com web link or through the NHS App.

PKB is a web-based portal which can be accessed at https://my.patientsknowbest.com. It is free and easy to use from any digital device that you can access the internet from - 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. Find out more about the NHS App at https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app .

If you have already created a PKB account, you will be sent automated email notifications from no-reply-uk@patientsknowbest.com when new information is added to your PKB record and it should appear as an update when you log in.

It's of utmost importance that we maintain accurate and up-to-date records for our patients. Please contact mse.pkb@nhs.net if you come across any inaccuracies in your records.

Your name, date of birth, gender and NHS number is uploaded to PKB based on your most recent activity with MSEFT and checked against the NHS Personal Demographics Service (PDS), so it should be the most accurate information we hold for you. You can read more about the PDS at https://digital.nhs.uk/services/personal-demographics-service#about-this-service.

If your information in PKB is incorrect, please contact mse.pkb@nhs.net. We ask that you include your NHS number in your 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.

A healthcare professional can also invite a carer directly to access a health record of their patient from within the PKB system.

Historical health information

Historical appointments and health information will not be added to PKB. If you would like access to information that forms part of your health record from a previous stay or visit to one of our MSEFT hospitals, you will need to contact our Access to Health Records team. Find out how at https://www.mse.nhs.uk/access-to-health-records.

Making sure data is secure

PKB complies with all national standards for health data security. It also undergoes rigorous testing. You can read more about how data is stored and managed at https://www.mse.nhs.uk/fair-processing-and-privacy-notice. Whether you choose to use PKB or not, the quality of care you receive from us will remain the same and we will continue to communicate with you in the same way that we do currently.

Opting out of sharing your information

Please contact mse.pkb@nhs.net at any time, if you want to opt out or opt back in to allowing your patient information to be shared in our patient portal and the NHS App. If you choose to opt out of sharing your data, your personal health information will still be used by the NHS to make sure you get the treatment and care you need. For example, your data may be shared between health organisations so that you can be referred to hospital or get the prescription or treatment you need.

A PKB user manual is at https://manual.patientsknowbest.com/patient. 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 short-cuts to guidance we think you may find useful:

• Using NHS Login to access PKB and viewing PKB via the NHS App
• Setting and resetting passwords
• Changing your email address associated with your PKB account
• Sharing your record with a family member, friend, carer or professional
• Email notifications
• Files

If you have a question that has not been answered above, please email mse.pkb@nhs.net.