Patient Initiated Follow-Up (PIFU)

Patient Initiated Follow-up (PIFU) describes when a patient, or their carer, books their follow-up appointments as and when they need them, rather than at routine intervals. This saves patients time, money and stress, and offers a safe and effective way to manage outpatient waiting lists as we seek to recover our services.

Evidence has shown that many patients with long-term conditions, or following hospital treatment, do not need regular follow-up appointments with our hospital teams. We believe it is more important to ensure you have timely access to a specialist clinician when you need it most, e.g., during a flare-up of symptoms. Used in conjunction with our digital-first approach, patient initiated follow-up (PIFU) appointments will empower you to access care if and when you need it, helping to keep you safe and saving the inconvenience of attending unnecessary appointments.

Recognised models of personalised follow up include:

• Patient Initiated Follow-Up – when a patient initiates an appointment when they need one, based on their symptoms and individual circumstances.

• Remote monitoring – when the clinical team initiate an appointment based on clinical information obtained through monitoring the patient’s condition. This might be through using wearable technologies, apps, clinical questionnaires or from test results.