You may have recently seen some information about how PatientView will soon be switching to Patients Know Best for kidney patients.

Why is this happening?
When PatientView was first established, kidney information systems were more advanced than in other medicine specialities, but now the information landscape and confidentiality rules around systems using patient information have changed. Ensuring that PatientView could achieve the latest demanding criteria for data security would be a complicated process.

The rebuilding and upgrading of PatientView would be expensive and the maintenance too much for the UK Kidney Association (UKKA) to undertake alone. Bringing the viewer in line with current standards was better supported by an independent company that already has an excellent security set-up.

The UKKA is now working with Patients Know Best (PKB) to provide the security and advanced functionality required.

What is PKB?
Patients Know Best is a well-established Personal Health Record provider hosting records for over 12 million people in the UK. The PKB platform offers patients and their kidney teams important enhancements in functionality. These include care planning, a symptom tracker, an appointment diary, a file of your important letters and additional data if the hospitals you attend, or your GP surgery, make use of PKB.

Data is encrypted in both transit (i.e. when the information comes in and out) and storage. This means that PKB cannot access your data and cannot alter it. You are the only person who can see your data, though you can opt to share data with someone you nominate, such as your carer or clinician.

How to switch?
You won’t be able to see your data on the new system until your kidney unit has switched to PKB. Any previous data sent to PatientView by kidney units, as well as your new data, will be available in your PKB record once your unit has switched over.

Before switching, each kidney unit checks the email addresses of their patients who were registered on PatientView. After these email addresses have been validated, patients will be sent an email from their kidney unit or from PKB inviting them to join the platform.

While the transition to the new platform takes place, you can continue to use your PatientView account. Ultimately, PatientView will be removed as the UKKA will no longer be able to support the platform with security plugs and updates – this is expected to happen at the end of 2022.

• Patients in England: you will be able to register for PKB using the new user function on NHS Login. Patients will also be contacted by their local unit via email or letter
• Patients in Wales: you will be contacted by email or letter
• Patients in Northern Ireland: your local unit will be in touch via email or letter to confirm how to register
• Patients in Scotland: the Scottish Government has recently approved the move from PV to PKB. Your local unit will contact you via email or letter to confirm how to register

The move from PatientView to PKB is a significant change that will take time to get used to. The UKKA have worked with PKB to produce a ‘Care plan’ that aims to group each patient’s key results to make them easier to view. As the changeover happens, there will be teething problems, but the UKKA are working closely with PKB and kidney units to resolve problems as quickly as possible.

If you need some help adjusting to the new platform, be sure to check out this handy guide to switching from PatientView to Patients Know Best: https://manual.patientsknowbest.com/.../renal-patientview... It has step by step instructions and screenshots of where to find your messages, results, care plans, appointments and more.

Sign up easily via the Patients Know Best website by following the steps here: https://patientsknowbest.com/renal/

You can email [email protected] for additional guidance. PKB continues to listen to and engage with kidney patients and will be making improvements and updates following your feedback.