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DIGITAL DICTATION, DOCUMENTS & DATA
More carrot, less stick – a change in approach could help the NHS reap the benefits of technology
Carefully designed technology can improve efficiency, patient safety and help meet NHS targets. Lexacom’s managing director, Dr Andrew Whiteley, talks about how digital dictation can not only lighten the load but tackle some of the key challenges facing healthcare professionals.
it’s well understood that the NHS needs to improve working practices to survive both growing demand and increasing complexity. The technology to improve patient safety and get things done more quickly already exists, so why has it not been universally adopted?
It’s
NHS England recently issued a patient safety alert after a review of hospital discharge reports showed a number were either illegible or incomplete. On the face of it, it seems incredible that a patient could be discharged without a complete set of notes for their GP. However, the reality is often that there simply isn’t an intuitive system in place to make these things happen easily.
Having worked as a GP for over 20 years, I can relate to the frustrations of receiving incomplete information, but a ‘stick’-style response may only deliver another knock to the NHS, when a ‘carrot’, in the form of a reliable solution, could work so much better.
Choose and Book – simplifying the process
A great example of this is the electronic referral system, Choose and Book. Working with our clients, we discovered that take-up of the system was often reduced because it was designed more for clinicians rather than admin staff. With pressure on GPs’ time, it often falls to secretaries to book appointments. However, the drop-down options for specialty and clinic type are complex and it’s difficult to know which to select.
Finding a way to plug the gap between dictating a referral letter and the Choose and Book system was a key part of Sheffield CCG Hallam and South Locality’s (HASC’s) tendering process for a digital dictation system.
As well as providing a consistent digital dictation solution to 22 GP practices, Lexacom
74 | national health executive Sep/Oct 14
no secret that technology can help people work more efficiently. Likewise,
worked with HASC to create a mandatory Choose and Book dropdown menu, so that GPs have to select the relevant categories at the time of dictation.
Interim locality manager Gordon Osborne said: “It’s much easier for secretaries to book the right clinics. They don’t have to check with the GP first and there are fewer cancelled appointments and queries as a result.”
Improving patient safety
Accuracy is non-negotiable when it comes to healthcare. In setting up Lexacom 15 years ago, it was my work as a GP which drove me to ensure our software was robust, secure and designed to improve accuracy.
The best example of this is delivering clinical integration. I’m proud to say that we are the only digital dictation provider to be approved by the three leading clinical systems, not because it’s a nice accolade, but because it means our clients can dictate, transcribe and send information with confidence.
Kineton and Tysoe Surgeries was one of the first to benefit. Ben Evans, reception and IT manager, said: “Integration with EMIS has removed that small but significant potential for error when drafting patient documents, particularly as we have a number of patients with the same name. Because Lexacom 3 integrates seamlessly with EMIS, we can now be fully confident that every dictation has the right patient details associated and is filed in the correct patient’s notes.”
Bridging the gap between primary and secondary care
The pressure is on for NHS trusts to work with GP practices to improve information sharing and put an end to concerns about discharge notes. Handwriting discharge letters is too onerous when doctors are busy. Likewise, template-generated forms lack the detail
needed.
Many GPs are already dictating via their smartphone and sending data securely for transcription. NHS trusts could use the same technology to handle discharge notes, enabling doctors to dictate when information is fresh in their minds, as is already accepted as best practice in primary care. With the advances in securely encrypted cloud technology, we’ve been able to ensure physical boundaries are no limitation to effective information sharing. The efficiencies are there to be had.
Gone are the days when digital dictation was just about a more efficient way of typing up a referral letter. The right dictation and workflow system can be an essential tool in improving efficiency and patient safety, as well as referral and discharge management.
Dr Andrew Whiteley FOR MORE INFORMATION
T: +44 (0)1295 236910 E:
sales@lexacom.co.uk W:
www.lexacom.co.uk
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