New digital service delivers vital information for renal care

17 January 2023

A digital summary of renal patient care is now available in the Welsh Clinical Portal (WCP), making vital information accessible where and when it’s needed.

It offers health professionals caring for people on dialysis, or who have had a life-saving transplant, a frequently updated view of an individual’s renal care, improving the patient experience.

Clinicians with access to the Welsh Clinical Portal can view a patient’s renal diagnosis, medications supplied by the renal unit, plus clinical notes from the renal system. It also contains contact details for the patient’s renal physician, surgeon, and (if relevant) details of their transplant team.

The renal team have also rolled out the ability for dialysis units to record medication administrations. This enables colleagues to see a list of recently given medications, where those facilities exist.

The aim is to support Primary Care and Emergency Department colleagues with information about a patient’s renal care that would otherwise be out of immediate reach.

Dr James Chess, Consultant Nephrologist and Digital lead for the Welsh Kidney Network described how patients with kidney disease have particularly complicated health requirements:

“Kidney patients may possibly be on dialysis or be treated with specialised medications such as immunosuppressants which are usually supplied directly from the renal unit. The digital summary allows the relevant information held in Welsh renal electronic patient record to be shared with the wider clinical community and sign-post clinicians on how to get renal advice tailored to the patient’s locality and health status.”

The digital renal care summary has been developed by Swansea Bay UHB and Digital Health and Care Wales as part of a Welsh Government Transformation Fund project on behalf of the Welsh Renal Clinical Network.

For further information please contact Gareth O’Gorman,  Renal Transformation Programme Manager.