News > PiF membership news

PiF has recently secured a grant from the Department of Health's Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development (IESD) fund which will see the development of a range of new resources, services and tools for PiF members and the wider consumer health information sector, aimed at improving the standard and reach of information for patients and the public. One of the key aims during year one of the project, which started in April 2012, is to create a 'one stop shop' for consumer health information by redesigning, expanding and updating the PiF web site. We are inviting companies to tender for work to the develop the new site. This includes design and architecture, development of the core website, membership and event management, e-commerce function, newsletter management, usability testing and ongoing maintenance. Submissions must be received by 1 June 2012. Click through to the website to download the tender.

During the PiF annual conference this week delegates were asked to use an electronic voting systems to give their views on three key questions around consumer health information. The results were interesting - more than half of delegates felt that integrating health information into healthcare delivery was the biggest challenge in providing quality health information for patients and the public; Incentives and levers for clinicians and commissioners were felt to be the thing that would make the biggest difference in raising the profile and importance of health information; and core competencies for information staff would make the biggest difference to improving the overall quality of information.

PiF member and Wales co-ordinator Rachel Iredale has written an article about her experiences of developing The Cancer Genetics StoryBank, a web based resource which provides engaging information about the risk of inheriting cancer. The StoryBank website contains a bank of digital stories from patients and staff from the Cancer Genetics Service for Wales (CGSW), an all-Wales service offering cancer genetic risk assessment, genetic counselling, and genetic testing for people with a family history of cancer. The StoryBank gives others the opportunity to the hear real-life experiences of people at various risk levels of cancer. The team believes that hearing real stories about people's experiences can help those affected by, or concerned about, familial cancer, as well as raising awareness of the role that family history plays in cancer generally.

Two articles from the last couple of weeks have publicised PiFs three year grant from the Department of Health. The news made both the Health Service Journal and E-health insider. The grant is for £175,000 over three years and will see the development of a range of new resources, services and tools for PiF members and the wider consumer health information sector, aimed at improving the standard and reach of information for patients and the public. The E-health insider article focuses on the case for information and features some comments from Mark Duman. The articles have generated interest from a number of information producers.

Choice "“ valueless without meaningful information is PiF's seventh Annual Conference, taking place this year at the Thinktank Science museum in Birmingham. This year, keynote sessions bring you up to date with national information strategy and shared decision making. Workshops include those that show you how to develop information that enables and how to produce information that aids self-management. You will hear from speakers that can bring you the latest work on the Information Standard, the development of Information Prescriptions and evaluating information. The conference concludes with a crucial review, and debate, around what constitutes good quality consumer health information. Lunchtime Show and Tell sessions this year look at social media, with three 5 minutes sessions on using Twitter, using Facebook and Blogging. Just 5 weeks remain until conference, don't leave it to the last minute to book!

We are delighted to announce that PiF has secured a grant from the Department of Health's Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development (IESD) fund. The grant is for £175,000 over three years and will see the development of a range of new resources, services and tools for PiF members and the wider consumer health information sector, aimed at improving the standard and reach of information for patients and the public. The project builds and strengthens people's choice and control over their own care, by helping information producers to improve the standard and the impact of the information they provide. It does that by bringing together the key tools that producers need, setting national quality standards and enabling producers to share knowledge, expertise and best practice with each other to improve quality, productivity and efficiency. It focuses on improving quality and access for groups that are traditionally poorly served.

In December 2011, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM), a mental health service provider, passed the NHS Litigation Authority assessment at Level 3, with 'a very good score'. SLaM is the only mental health trust to currently hold Level 3, which is the highest possible standard. PiF member Roslyn Byfield is Patient Information Manager at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and has documented her experience of achieving level 3 NHSLA and getting patient information integrated into the patient journey and is sharing it with other PiF members. Roslyn has also shared her information policy, which you can find on the web site.

This half day event focuses on the topic of evaluating the impact of information and explores, through presentations and group discussion, what this means for organisations in the voluntary sector. Evaluation of information resources and services is an area that is sometimes overlooked and often a challenge to get right. Finding out whether your information meets the needs of your users, discovering how it is used or what happens to it once it has left your organisation, and exploring the impact it has on an individual's decision making are all important aspects of providing high quality information. This event allows participants to discuss these important issues with other voluntary sector information producers and learn from organisations that are already undertaking, or planning, this type of work. The event is held in London on February 24 2012 but is open to voluntary sector organisations from outside London as well. Places are limited so you are advised to book your place early. The event is free to attend.

PiF has joined the 21st century this week and will be both Tweeting news stories from the PiF aware newsletter every day and sharing on LinkedIn. You can follow us @PiFonline and connect with us on LinkedIn.

This half day Patient Information Forum event explores the role of digital media in the production and provision of high quality health information for patients and the public. Sessions cover the main on-line channels - web sites, on-line communities and social media. They aim to give you practical insight into how you can use these tools to produce quality information and campaigns that effectively reach your audience. Confirmed sessions include those on using social media and assessing the accessibility, usability and reliability of online health information. The event takes place on 14 November in Bristol. Places are going fast!