Digital Assessments

What are digital assessments?

Digital assessments are a new service which help us better understand your health between appointments and gives you a more active role in your care. Using these online forms, you can inform us of your symptoms and other vital clinical information from the comfort of your home before and after your appointments.

Digital assessments are important in helping us monitor your health, inform clinical appointments and provide you with more suitable care. This functionality is being rolled out in select few areas, therefore only patients receiving care within these services will be invited to complete an assessment.

We’ve partnered with DrDoctor to provide this service. DrDoctor is the UK’s leading Patient Engagement Platform offering services such as appointment notifications, digital by default appointment letters and video consultations.

Why are you introducing digital assessments?

Assessment of patient’s health as part of our outpatient clinic services will help us:

• Better understand your health before and after your appointments
• Give you a more active role in your health care
• Improve our understanding of treatments and any side effects
• Use data to make better decisions around delivering care

How do digital assessments work?

If you are under the care of an outpatient service using this functionality and are required to complete an assessment, you will automatically receive a digital invitation. This will be via a text message or email asking you to complete a Digital Assessment online before or after your appointment, or as part of your scheduled care. Text messages will come from the number 07860 039092 and emails will come from no-reply@drdoctor.co.uk. The assessment will be completed via the secure DrDoctor platform.

The questions you will be asked depends on which specialty you are being seen by. Digital Assessments may include questions about your diagnosis and treatment, pain and its management, current symptoms and well-being. These assessments may also help us to gather information on what you would like to discuss with your care provider at a scheduled appointment.

Once you’ve completed your assessment your care team will review your answers and discuss them with you at your next appointment or contact you directly with next steps. If it is a multi-point assessment, in the future you and your team will be able to see how your answers change over time and note your progress.

How to complete your digital assessment

1. We’ll send you a text message or email when you have a new digital assessment to complete. This process is automatic, and you do not need to do anything to instigate this.
   1. You can view and complete your assessments on any device by visiting thirdparty.nhs.uk/sbft (see the FAQ section).
   2. If you cannot complete the assessment online, the outpatient service will provide an alternative method. This may be by contacting you directly via telephone, sending a paper-based version or gathering the information during your scheduled clinic appointment.
2. Click the DrDoctor link in your text message/email to go to your secure patient portal
3. Log in with your last name, date of birth and postcode. Military personnel may need to use different log in details. Please enquire with your medical centre or hospital booking team if you have difficulties logging in.
4. Fill in the form as accurately as you can and click ‘Submit’
5. View a summary of your answers online at any time

You can view and complete your assessments on another device by visiting drdoctor.thirdparty.nhs.uk/sbft, logging in as usual and navigating to ‘Online Care’. We will send you a one-time code to your phone number for additional security when logging in from another device.

Frequently asked questions

I’m having trouble logging in and completing my form?

If you can’t log in, please contact us using the contact details listed on your invitation message and check we have your correct Last name, Date of Birth, Postcode and Mobile number. If you are having trouble completing the form our teams can assist you.

I’ve logged in but I can’t access my Digital Assessment, what should I do?

Occasionally when you try to complete an assessment you might see
a message in red saying that unfortunately there is a problem with your assessment. If this happens, please try again the next day and your assessment should be up and running. If the problem persists, please advise your health care professional using the contact details listed on your invitation message.

1. Log in to the DrDoctor Portal via https://drdoctor.thirdparty.nhs.uk/SFT
2. Navigate to Settings.
3. You can see the telephone numbers and email addresses associated with your account in the Contact area of the settings page.
4. To add another contact number/email, select Add New.
5. If you want to remove one of the listed contact details, toggle the on/off button next to the relevant contact detail.

Want to use a different device?

You can view and complete your assessments on any device by visiting drdoctor.thirdparty.nhs.uk/sbft.

1. Go to thirdparty.nhs.uk/sbft
2. Enter your last name, date of birth, and postcode and click ‘Let’s go’
3. Select the phone number you would like us to send your one-time code to
4. Enter the one-time code you receive and click ‘Let’s go’
5. Go to ‘Online care’ in the top left
6. Find the assessment you want to complete and click ‘Complete Assessment’ logging in as usual and navigating to ‘Online Care’. What if there is a problem?

What if there is a problem?

If you have any queries regarding the completion of your assessment or any questions in relation to this work, please contact us using the contact details listed on your invitation message. 

What if I do not complete the Digital Assessment?

Patients who don’t complete their digital assessment will receive a reminder message a few days later. If still not completed on the due date, the outpatient service area will instigate a follow up on the overdue assessment. This ensures that all patients still have an opportunity to complete the assessment. Follow ups may include things like sending a paper version, contacting the patient via telephone or completing the assessment as part of the scheduled clinic appointment. 

What should I do if I need medical care?

Please note, the form does not replace medical care. Seek medical advice immediately if you feel unwell in any way or are concerned about your symptoms. Please contact the Central Booking Team on 01722 345543 for outpatient appointment queries or 999 for life threatening emergencies. If you need medical help fast but it's not a 999 emergency, call 111.

Where is my information held?
By completing this form, you agree that this information can be held on the DrDoctor system and accessed by Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust staff involved in your care. This is a secure system and has been approved by our information governance department.

DrDoctor is accredited to the highest standards set by the NHS for protecting the healthcare information of UK citizens as certified here www.dsptoolkit.nhs.uk/OrganisationSearch/8HY91. DrDoctor’s Privacy Policy can be found at my.drdoctor.co.uk/privacy.

How is my data handled?

Anonymous information (i.e. no one will be able to identify you) will be used at a future date to help us improve the quality of the local services we are providing to you. It will be used to support researching how effective treatment is. By returning this form, you are consenting for the information to be used in this way.

Data required to deliver this service and product developments will be shared with our service provider, DrDoctor. DrDoctor is accredited to the highest standards set by the NHS for protecting the healthcare information of UK citizens as certified here www.dsptoolkit.nhs.uk/OrganisationSearch/8HY91. DrDoctor’s Privacy Policy can be found at my.drdoctor.co.uk/privacy.

By submitting a Digital Assessment, you are consenting for the information to be used in this way.

Find out more in the FAQs below.