Introducing a digital portal that enables patients to access their health records
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Introducing a digital portal that enables patients to access their health records

Helen Balsdon Chief nursing information officer/head of nursing, Chief Nurse’s Office, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To understand how digital technology enables patients to access their health records

  • To learn how patient portals can enhance patients’ involvement in their own care

  • To familiarise yourself with the way a patient portal could be introduced across a healthcare organisation

People manage many aspects of their lives online through digital devices such as smartphones. However, the ability for people to manage their healthcare digitally has not yet been fully realised. Patient portals are secure online links that offer patients convenient and constant access to their personal health records. Evidence has suggested that patient portals can enhance patients’ engagement in their own care and support them to manage any long-term conditions.

This article describes the introduction of a patient portal at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The article outlines the process of implementation and discusses the lessons learned, which may be of value to other organisations.

Nursing Management. doi: 10.7748/nm.2021.e1994

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@HelenBalsdon1

Correspondence

helenbalsdon@btinternet.com

Conflict of interest

None declared

Balsdon H (2021) Introducing a digital portal that enables patients to access their health records. Nursing Management. doi: 10.7748/nm.2021.e1994

Published online: 24 August 2021

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