MISS_03AchievingAddressing Missingness
Develop Individual Needs Profiles (e.g. PIN documents) for at-risk patients
Summary
Use structured documents to record how specific patients prefer to be contacted and supported around care engagement.
Supporting information
Patients experiencing missingness or complex access needs require highly individualised approaches. Comprehensive Individual Needs Profiles go beyond basic adjustments to capture detailed information about communication, environmental, timing, and support needs, creating truly person-centred access.
Approaches to implementation:
- Co-design a simple template to capture contact and access preferences and support needs for suitable Focus Patients
- Start with patients showing disengagement patterns, expanding to others with complex needs
- Use profiles to inform appointment booking, reminder systems, service development and outreach approaches
- Train staff to complete profiles collaboratively with patients
- Flag clinical record and store profiles prominently for easy access by all team members
- Review and update profiles regularly
Key benefits: Reduces wasted appointments through more effective engagement strategies whilst demonstrating respect for patient autonomy and individual circumstances that may affect healthcare access.
Resources
Links open on other organisations' websites.