QR code helping UHDB's osteoporosis patients access information and manage their condition from home
Univeristy Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) has partnered with the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) to provide patients with useful information regarding their care and ongoing treatment from the comfort of their homes.
Patients receiving care for osteoporosis, a long-term condition that weakens bones which makes them fragile and more likely to break, now receive QR codes which link through to information about a host of topics on all letters and correspondence. This allows patients to find out about drug treatments, helpful exercises and dietary requirements for good bone health, reducing the need for them to contact or attend our hospitals for further advice. Alongside the QR code, letters are also now endorsed with the ROS logo.
Sharon Williamson, Team Leader for the Outpatient Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Clinic, led the project alongside colleague Susie Albiston, from the Patient Systems team, which was first implemented in January 2022.
Sharon said: ''It has been brilliant to see our hard work now providing benefits to patients.
"It was actually one of our Specialist Nurses who came up with the initial idea, after seeing colleagues in A&E at Queen's Hospital Burton making use of QR codes, so we started to explore this and linked in with the ROS to see if they could help us make this idea into a reality."
Find out more about the 'QR bar' at Queen's Hospital Burton here >
Not only is this innovation helping patients access vital information to aid the management of their condition, the use of QR codes is helping the Trust to save both time and money.
Sharon explained: "We are constantly adding more and more leaflets to the digital library of information. This means that we don't have to send as many enclosures with patient letters in the post.
"This saves our teams time in putting all these together as everything is all together in one simple letter."
The scheme has so far proved beneficial but the team is keen to continue to work to improve and tailor it to the needs of individual patients. It has also attracted attention from other teams across the Trust, with colleagues in other areas looking to implement a similar scheme to streamline their processes.
Sharon said: "We have done a small audit which returned some positive responses, but we know there's still more we can do to further enhance the experience of our patients.
"We understand some patients will always prefer a piece of paper, but we hope in time that this will become less and less.
"At this stage, we can provide some guidance on how these patients can access the information they need digitally and hopefully make their lives that bit easier."
The team proactively ask patients when they attend clinic if they prefer to access information virtually or wish to continue to receive paper copies, as well as providing guidance on using QR codes where necessary.
The osteoporosis team continues to work closely with the ROS to provide resources to patients, which include easily accessible information leaflets and videos. Trust colleagues also support the ROS in other ways, with members of the osteoporosis team embarking on regular charity endeavours to help fund the work of the ROS.
Find out more about the work of the ROS online (opens in new window) >