As part of our ongoing strategy to use digital to improve the care we provide to our patients, we will be introducing a new digital consent application by Concentric.

The new service is patient centred, supporting patient decision making about their treatment, whilst continuing to ensure informed consent.

The Trust expects the following benefits from implementing digital consent:

• Better patient experience and understanding of the decision-making process, with the option for clinicians to add links to additional information and resources, and the time and space to discuss at home with your friends and family.

• Digital consent is a greener option, as it allows consent to be given digitally reducing paper use.

• Digital consent will allow us to create bespoke consent forms for you and your care.

• Digital consent is stored securely on your electronic patient record, instantly creating a traceable electronic record of consent.

How does digital consent work?

How will I be contacted for my digital consent?

You may receive genuine communication from your clinician via Concentric, either as an email from the email address notifications@concentric.health, or as an SMS from a mobile contact named ‘Concentric’  It will mention that the communication is sent from Surrey and Sussex Healthcare nhs trust.

Which devices will I be able to use to access digital consent?

You will be able to access your digital consent via Concentric on any modern web-enabled device. This includes full functionality across all screen sizes (i.e. mobiles, tablets, laptops and desktop computers).

Whilst the majority of the functionality will work on older browsers such as Internet Explorer, Concentric do not recommend using these browsers.

Where is my data stored?

Concentric uses Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for all hosting and data processing, within a data centre in the UK. GCP is compliant with all healthcare information governance requirements.

Once the consent episode is completed, a pdf version of the consent form is automatically transferred into the Trust’s electronic patient record systems.

How is my data protected?

All data is protected following industry best practice with regard to access controls and encryption.

Patients are sent an email with a unique link and enter their date of birth in order toverify their identity.

All data is stored using leading encryption methods and is transferred securely.

Who are Concentric?

You can find out more information on the Concentric website.