Dr Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, CEO and founder of Patients Know Best, explains the importance of clinician patient collaboration
Healthcare is undergoing a profound transformation. The rise of digital tools, artificial intelligence (AI), and readily accessible information is creating a new dynamic where patients are more informed and active participants in their care. This shift is redefining the traditional doctor–patient relationship, moving it from a paternalistic model to a necessarily collaborative one. While technology provides the infrastructure for this change, the key challenge lies in preparing clinicians for this new world.
The modern patient is empowered. They can access vast amounts of information online, from condition-specific forums to medical research papers. AI-powered tools help them track health metrics and analyse symptoms. This empowerment is highly positive, especially for those with chronic conditions who spend far more time managing their health than they do with a doctor. Crucially, this means clinicians must learn to engage with patients as knowledgeable partners, not passive recipients of care.
A Pakistani-born doctor in England once told me that his Pakistani-born patients in his NHS General Practice appointments would say: “Why are you asking my opinion? You’re the doctor, I came to get your opinion.” But then his UK-born patients – including the children of South Asian immigrants – very much wanted to tell him what their opinion was.
The name “Patients Know Best” triggers these conversations with doctors and patients. I remembered that particular conversation when we introduced Patients Know Best in the first Saudi medical school to adopt it. The students there will work with the second youngest population in the world (after Pakistan’s) as 65 per cent of Saudis are under the age of 30. They are highly digital and they have been taught by their parents to shop around for medical opinions.
So how is a professional to work with all these personalities of patients? Certainly, most medical schools’ curriculums assume a world where the doctor knows everything and the patient obeys everything. If this ever was true, it no longer is.
The cultural shift in healthcare
This fundamental shift presents a significant change management challenge for the entire healthcare industry. Many clinicians, comfortable with the traditional model, express concerns, fearing that giving patients real-time access to their data will lead to confusion or unnecessary anxiety. They must adjust to having their notes reviewed not just by peers, but by the very patients they care for.
For more than 17 years, we at PKB have been helping patients access their records. We’ve seen first-hand how liberating this is for patients, but we also know that for many clinicians, it’s a huge change. Some resist it, fearing that patients won’t understand the information or that it will create more work. While technology is essential, it’s not enough on its own. The real issue is the need for a cultural shift and proper training that prepares clinicians for this new partnership model of care.
This resistance often stems from an education system that hasn’t kept pace. Prof Hsu, a clinical educationalist and long-term campaigner for change, told us:
“What concerned me was the disconnect between the narrative of having a patient-centred healthcare system, patient-centred doctors, and the reality of what was happening within the education and the training systems for both doctors and other healthcare professions. Patients were almost another species that were brought into the institution, brought in to be displayed and used for teaching.”
The old, single-practitioner model is no longer fit for purpose. Prof Hsu noted that the rise of complex conditions and technology means:
“The multiplicity of the conditions for any individual has meant that you need multiple inputs so the idea of a single practitioner can cure X, Y or Z, isn’t going to work. It’s got to be coordination, collaboration and data held in records which are accurate and reliable are key.”
Recognising this need, PKB, as a social enterprise, is addressing the root problem by supporting medical education. While our platform helps patients manage their health, we understand that true transformation requires clinician buy-in and a recalibration of the relationship with patients.
The PKB Education Programme
For this reason, PKB established its pro bono Education Programme more than a decade ago. Professor Ronald Hsu, who pioneered the programme at Leicester University Medical School back in 2014, explains the fundamental goal:
“We wanted students to understand what it’s like to live with particular conditions or to care for someone with that condition. It’s important to understand that the disease is not what you see in the GP surgery, the emergency department or the acute medical unit because the disease actually has an impact on the patient that continues for months and years.”
The programme uses the PKB platform for a variety of simulated activities, providing students with practical, hands-on experience:
• Volunteer and student role-play: students interact with volunteers or peers to practise consultation skills.
• Case study learning: students work with pre-built test patient records, reviewing data and creating care plans.
• Problem-based learning: the platform facilitates multidisciplinary sessions where students from medicine, pharmacy, nursing and other courses collaborate to solve complex cases.
The ultimate goal is to produce clinicians like Dr Ethan Maitlyn, one of the first students to participate. As a practising hospital doctor today, he credits his early experience with PKB for teaching him to see patients as people to collaborate with rather than just a problem to be fixed.
“The patient has their lived experience, and you have your medical experience and knowledge,” he says. “Knowing and understanding patients’ lived experience of illness and treatment will help future doctors to understand what works and what doesn’t, and how to communicate their ideas going forward.”
Future-proofing medical education
Our pro bono PKB Education Programme is committed to training the next generation of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to thrive in a collaborative, patient-centric system. Since its pioneering launch in 2014 at the University of Leicester Medical School, the programme has seen around 5,400 students participate across multiple education establishments globally.
As we begin the new academic year, the programme is continuing to expand its reach. New joiners include the University of Nottingham Medical School in the UK and Almaarefa University in the Arab region. The platform is used for essential simulated activities such as consultation skills training, problem-based learning sessions, simulated placements, and interprofessional learning activities.
We believe that equipping students with the skills needed for tomorrow’s healthcare is essential. Educational institutions interested in joining the pro bono programme to prepare their students for a digital and collaborative world can find more information online or reach out directly.
CONTACT INFORMATION
hello@patientsknowbest.com