How NHS Trust, St. George’s University Hospital Introduces Siilo to Enhance Team Communication

Challenge: securely share patient data via mobile phone

An internal study done by the both Trauma and Orthopaedics Departments at St. George’s University Hospitals found that over 87% of healthcare professionals use smartphones to discuss patient cases at work. 56% of these professionals couldn’t be sure whether or not information exchanged on their phones was secure. In order to avoid accidentally breaching patient confidentiality, Spinal and Orthopaedic Surgeon, Darren Lui and the Trauma and Orthopaedic teams were using imprecise language and doctored images in their messages when discussing patient cases on commercial apps. This was not a suitable option as care became inefficient and even dangerous because patients could be mixed up. Both teams were looking for a mobile solution that would allow them to share patient information in a secure, GDPR-compliant way.

Solution: secure messaging app specifically designed for medical professionals

Darren Lui was closely involved in the selection process for a new messaging solution. Siilo’s multiple security certifications, as well as its numerous features specifically designed to protect patient information, drove his decision to choose Siilo: ​“Siilo has so many extra features: I can blur somebody’s face in a photograph and put an arrow pointing to an area of interest. You simply can’t do these things with a normal digital camera on the fly.” By using Siilo, the Orthopaedics Department is able to operate in line with the latest NHS information governance regulations.

Siilo functionality that enhances data security at St. George’s includes:

• PIN Code protection, ensuring that the app cannot be accessed by unauthorised users
• User verification, safeguarding that medical professionals have verified profiles in Siilo
• End-to-end encryption, protecting messages from potential eavesdroppers
• Separate media library, ensuring that photos and files are stored securely and not mixed with personal photos or synced with cloud services.
• Siilo Medical Directory, allowing users to find other healthcare professionals without exchanging personal contact data

One of the key benefits of Siilo, Lui explains, was that our Siilo point of contacts were accessible and happy to engage in dialogue and provide help as needed during onboarding. ​“Being able to contact Siilo directly with any concerns or issues was really useful,” he admits. ​“Team Siilo was incredibly helpful. They answered all of our questions and made changes along the way to make our experience better.”

Results: secure and efficient team communication

The entire Orthopaedics and Major Trauma team at St. George’s use Siilo regularly to securely share patient data. Since Siilo’s implementation, nearly 20,000 messages have been exchanged per year between 204 active members.

Siilo has helped both teams deliver a higher quality of patient care faster by bringing experts from different specialties together, even beyond institutional walls. ​“In a major emergency situation, for example, we can quickly form groups of appropriate medical professionals inside a hospital or between hospitals,” explains Lui. 

Jonathan Ogidi, a Physician Associate at the hospital, further illustrates how Siilo has helped accelerate the decision-making processes:​”I remember one shift, we went to review a trauma patient with degloving injuries. With Siilo we were able to act quickly and send images to the Plastics Consultant, who provided an immediate prognosis and offered his clinical advice. This led to a quick decision and the patient was taken into theatre that night.”

How can your organisation implement Siilo for team communication?

Would you like to learn more about how Siilo can help your team to warrant patient confidentiality by collaborating with a secure, mobile app? Get in touch with us here.