Patients Know Best (PKB) portal

PKB has lots of great features to help you during your cancer care. Your clinical team can also use it – for example, to send important messages, share useful advice, or check how you are feeling. PKB can:

• Empower you to take control of your health. PKB gives you easy access to your medical information, so you can make informed decisions about your care.
• Improve communication with your other healthcare teams. PKB allows you to share your information with other healthcare professionals easily. This can help them to better understand your needs and provide you with the best possible care.
• Support your treatment journey and life after cancer treatment. PKB allows you to track your progress over time and see how you are doing. This can help you towards your goals. It can also help you spot any triggers or trends – for example, with side-effects. 

It is best to read letters and other messages we send you the day they arrive. If you do not open a message on our portals within 48 hours, the system will automatically send a paper copy by post. 

You will get an email from Patients Know Best (PKB). It will contain a registration link that is unique to you. Click the link and follow the instructions. Remember:

You can use your NHS login when you register for PKB. You will already have a NHS login if you use the NHS App, or other services that use NHS login.

We all want to stay safe online. You will get an email or SMS text message with a unique link for you to register for PKB:

• SMS text messages will come from 'CCCHOSPITAL'
• Emails will come from 'no-reply-uk@patientsknowbest.com'. You can check the message is actually from this address by selecting the email address (on your mobile) or hovering your mouse over it on a computer

Patients Know Best (PKB) is free to use. We will never ask you for money, your bank details or your credit card information.

We will never contact you and ask you for your password. 

If you have any questions or worries, please contact us or speak to a member of staff at your next appointment. 

It will vary depending on which clinical team you are under. Some of our teams use PKB as part of your ongoing care at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. 

You can also use PKB to record your own health information and then choose to share it with others involved in your care – for example, other healthcare professionals, carers, family members or friends.  

Features that are available to everyone include:

• Symptom tracker – a diary where you can keep track of how you are feeling, physically and mentally. This can help you identify any triggers or trends – for example, with side-effects. 
• Medications – you can use this to keep track of the medications you are taking. You can share this with other healthcare professionals if you choose. 
• Allergies – you can use this to record any allergies to have. Then you can share this information with other healthcare professionals if you choose. 

Important!

Your clinical team don’t usually get a notification when you add information to PKB. Always contact your clinical team directly if there is something important you need to tell them.

Features that are available if your clinical team is using them include:

• Messaging – your clinical team can send important messages and information. You will get an email notification to tell you when you have a new message on PKB.
• Health assessments – your clinical team can send you health questionnaires to complete to tell them how you are. 
• Clinical correspondence – your clinical team can make medical letters about your care available for you to read on PKB.
• Test results – your clinical team might make test results available for you on PKB.

We invite some patients to register for PKB before we add any of their clinical information there. 

Don’t worry if you don’t see any of your health record there when you first log in to PKB. You can use many of the features on PKB before we add your clinical information – for example, you can use it to record your symptoms, medications, allergies and so on. 

Your clinical team don’t usually get notified when you do this. Always contact your clinical team directly if there is something important you need to tell them.

Don’t worry, PKB will automatically recognise you from your NHS number and link your information from The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre to any other records on there. 

This means you only ever need one PKB account. PKB will recognise your email address and/or NHS number so that all your health information is in one place.

It will be clear what information is from The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and what information is from other healthcare providers that use PKB. 

You can choose to share your PKB health record with others involved in your care. For example, you can share it with your GP or other health and care professionals outside The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. You can also share it with carers, family members or friends if you choose.

PKB is a secure platform. It complies with national standards for health data security and with NHS protocols. 

Your data is encrypted both when it is sent and while it is stored on PKB’s systems. This means that it is converted into a secure format so that only you, and those who have permission, can access your information. 

PKB is being integrated into the NHS App at different times in different regions of England. 

PKB isn’t currently available in the NHS App for our patients but it will be available there in the future. 

For additional information and support with the portal, please email us at ccf-tr.pkb.clatterbridgecc@nhs.net