NHS LONG TERM PLAN
audits, allowing diabetes teams to identify high-risk patients that may not be managing their insulin levels, have been admitted to hospital or have low levels of clinic attendance. By providing a way to monitor these patients, EMRs have led to improvements in the management of the condition though more effective, targeted education. In turn, this has led to the reduction in emergency admissions, minimised hospital stays and decreased diabetes-related complications. This is vital to reducing diabetes related expenditure and providing services which are cost-effective. The real-time visibility enabled by digital solutions makes this possible. Some diabetes management systems go
further, enabling Trusts to capture the data required for mandatory national audits and the Best Practice Tariff9
(BPT). This has
digitised what was previously onerous manual processes, reducing the risk of human error, improving efficiency and accuracy of audit submissions and helping Trusts unlock vital funding through the BPT.
Integration with other clinical systems
While specialist systems will undoubtedly continue to have an important role to play, greater gains can be made in combining data from other clinical systems. These gains go beyond the departmental level and allow for information to be combined with other clinical systems, such as retinopothy or ophthalmology, for example, to provide a holistic view.
In the context of the current NHS focus on collaboration and integration, specialist EMRs must have the capability to allow for bidirectional data to be shared between other systems and data warehouses. This allows for more sophisticated analytics to be developed, enabling clinical teams to better understand trends and improve decision-making. As Trusts look at new ways to reduce costs and enhance quality, solutions that facilitate data integration in a holistic approach should be at the fore. For technology partners, the best approach is to work closely with clinicians to develop solutions that take into account the realities of real-world understanding of
The functionality of being able to access individual patient data, whether recent or historic, and at any time, is proving to be extremely useful for when we review
patient care and for the NPDA. Dr Parakkal Raffeeq, University Hospitals of North Midlands
pathways – and truly understand the value of sharing data interdepartmentally.
NHS Long Term Plan
The Long Term Plan (LTP) sets out a phased approach to support Trusts in achieving industry-wide goals around improving performance, value and healthcare across the NHS. In addition to integration, the LTP focuses on collaboration and sets out a vision for a fully digitised NHS by 2024 that will require a cultural sea change. It’s helping all stakeholders keep focus and encouraging them to work together to unlock operational efficiencies and opportunities for better patient care. Culturally, staff are seeing the impact different technology is having on transforming day-to-day practices. Acceptance of the need to digitalise and the adoption of technology continues to increase, which is creating a virtuous circle. Nurses and clinicians’ time is being saved by removing the need to manually enter data into systems from paper- based records.
The better allocation and management of resources is leading to more meaningful time being spent with patients and is allowing for the delivery of improved patient care. Whereas in the past, patients’ time with clinicians would be partly spent going over notes from appointments with other departments, now the introduction of EMRs is reducing the amount of valuable clinical time spent on that overlap. Instead, patients have a greater opportunity to ask questions and clinicians have more time to advise them on their individual needs.
The positive impact on patient care is
clear to see and the importance of such collaboration will continue to grow with the rising number of diabetes patients in the UK. These efficiencies are also generating valuable cost savings, which is helping to drive implementation of digitised solutions from the top, to support the clinicians who are making a difference in delivering patient care. There is also a big culture shift in how specialist suppliers are working together to provide advanced technology and systems to the NHS and ensure these are able to integrate with one another. The LTP is a continuation in the shift in NHS thinking away from competition and towards collaboration. Suppliers, Trusts and policymakers are becoming more closely aligned in their approach, putting their commercial differences aside, to come together to improve integrated care by enabling GPs and consultants to see the same patient data. InterOpen, for example, is leading the way in forging these alliances. While it may seem that there is a lot still to do in order to reach the goals laid out in the LTP, there is much progress being made and this needs to continue and expand. Trusts should ensure they share their successes, learn from each other, and work closely with trusted partners to join up IT systems and continue the growth of interoperability, from interfacing within hospital systems, through to GP practices and even national programmes.
How does this work in practice?
Through its partnership with software and consultancy provider Hicom, the University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM), is
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