Deliver important medical documents patients can keep and find again

A practical guide to choosing the right approach for patient communications, reducing avoidable administration while giving patients dependable access to the important documents arising from their care.

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A complete approach to patient communications

Different communications do different jobs

Clinical systems, email and messaging, patient portals and Documentd each serve a different purpose. Use clinical systems to manage care, email and messaging to communicate, portals to support the active relationship, and Documentd to deliver the important records patients should keep. Together, they can improve the patient experience and reduce avoidable requests for copies.

Clinical systems Create & manage

Manage clinical records, care workflows and approved patient documents.

Email & messaging Communicate

Appointment reminders, service updates and everyday communication, using appropriate confidentiality controls.

Four complementary roles The right tool for the right job

Better patient experience · less administration

Documentd Deliver, keep & find

Deliver private, recipient-owned copies of important documents patients need to retain.

Patient portal Access & interact

Appointments, questionnaires, live information, payments and secure messaging.

Clinical systems hold the provider's clinical record. Portals support live interaction. Documentd gives patients their own copies of documents approved for delivery.

Private healthcare in practice

Choose the right approach for each communication

An appointment reminder and a discharge summary do different jobs. The reminder prompts an action; the summary may be needed months or years later. Keep operational interactions in the systems designed for them, and give patients their own lasting copies of completed documents. The clinical team decides what is appropriate to release and when.

Email & messaging

Communicate

For reminders, notifications and routine coordination, with content and channel chosen to protect confidentiality.

Appointment reminders
Scheduling updates
Preparation reminders
Document availability notifications

Patient portal

Access & interact

For live information, self-service and interaction during the patient relationship.

Appointment management
Pre-treatment questionnaires
Clinically approved results access
Payments and secure messaging

Documentd

Deliver & retain

For completed, approved documents patients may need to review, retrieve or take to another provider.

Consultation letters and approved reports
Discharge summaries
Treatment plans and aftercare instructions
Completed consent documentation
Invoices and insurance correspondence

Where Documentd fits

Keep your systems for managing care. Give patients the documents they should keep.

Patients may need a consultation letter for another specialist, aftercare instructions once they are home, or an invoice for an insurance claim. Leaving those records among everyday emails, or dependent on access to a particular provider's portal, can lead to avoidable calls and requests for another copy.

Documentd delivers the approved document into the patient's own private Keepd account. It is already kept and organised, ready to find again after the episode of care has ended. Access does not depend on the patient retaining access to the hospital's or clinic's portal, including when that portal is replaced.

The patient receives their own copy, not a replacement for the provider's authoritative clinical record. Documentd does not replace clinical systems, professional judgement, consent discussions or urgent communication. Results requiring explanation should follow the provider's clinical release process; delivery or access evidence does not establish that a patient understood the information.

Choose the correct recipient and confirm any representative's authority before delivery. Keep appropriate alternatives for patients who cannot use digital delivery. If clinical advice changes, issue a clearly dated replacement with appropriate notification: a retained historical document is not necessarily the current treatment instruction.

Clinical systems maintain the provider's clinical record and manage care workflows.

Email & messaging handle reminders, notifications and routine coordination with appropriate safeguards.

Patient portals support live information, appointments and secure interaction.

Documentd gives patients their own lasting copies of approved documents, independently of the provider's portal.

Business Case 09

See the business case for this approach

See how Documentd can reduce portal complexity, improve customer service and phase out unnecessary post.

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