I want to promote digital inclusion

Getting started

Engage with strategies to promote digital inclusion:  

• NHS Digital has useful resources to develop your understanding of digital inclusion, including the issues in your area and guidance on supporting your patients to get the best out of remote consultations.

Support patients to access resources that can improve their confidence and understanding of remote approaches.

Some great resources already exist which can be adapted for services specific needs or used as they are:

• Telerehab toolkit – advice and resources from the University of Plymouth to support patients and professionals using remote consultations.
• Video consulting in the NHS – guidance and resources for NHS patients and clinicians to support online consultations from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and the University of Oxford.

Quick wins

Check the digital heatmap for your area:

• Are there certain patients/patient groups who do not access your service or do not complete their treatment?
• Could digital exclusion be contributing to this?
• How can you improve patient access to assessment and treatment? 

Consider local access to remote service delivery:

• Are there options for patients to choose in-person or specific remote approaches (such as a telephone call instead of a video call) and is this made clear on your appointment communications? 
• Are there any local or organisational strategies or resources that could help your patients? 
• Could your current patient resources be improved (with reference to the resources above) to improve patients' confidence in using remote consultations when this is appropriate for them? 
• Do you or your team collect data to show that you are considering digital inclusion in your physiotherapy offer? If not, could the data you collect be changed to reflect this more effectively? 

Develop your local network of digital leaders:

• Does your organisation have a digital lead or digital champions who could help you look at this?