Delivering patient-initiated follow-up (PIFU) is a major new change to outpatient services laid out in NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance and is almost certainly going to be a major component of the Elective Recovery Plan. Tom Whicher provides an insight.
With two thirds of all hospital appointments taken up with often unnecessary followup reviews, patients can find these appointments inconvenient in terms of travel, financial costs and time out of work. These unnecessary appointments also place an exceptional burden on clinical and administrative staff. PIFU aims to reduce this by empowering patients to be partners in the decision about when to have their next follow-up appointment.
The target in December, which the majority of NHS Trusts missed, was to have 1.5% of all outpatient attendances on a PIFU pathway with the service to be trialled in at least five major outpatient specialties. Against a backdrop of winter pressures, and a burnt out workforce, is it even possible for the NHS to deliver on what are almost certainly going to be tougher targets in the Elective Recovery Plan?
Simplifying PIFU through digital
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