Healthcare Improvement Scotland has shared that a new app-based service described as a “one-stop shop” is to be delivered to support clinical and care decision-making, marking the latest step in the roll-out of the Right Decision Service (RDS) – a programme designed to support professionals delivering care by providing access to evidence-based tools and digital platforms.
At present, a pilot version of RDS links online tools and apps in order to provide access to up-to-date clinical guidelines, tools and resources. Additional funding means that RDS can create a single app – the ‘Once for Scotland Right Decisions App’ – which collates the resources together onto one site.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland shares that a consultation earlier this year “confirmed that these tools save time, improve use of available resource, empower staff to deliver safer, more consistent care, and strengthen the focus on outcomes that matter to the person”. Additionally, a pilot of RDS in 2021-22 highlighted that 82 percent of clinicians using RDS “found it helpful in identifying and mitigating clinical risk to patients”.
The service has been developed and piloted with Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s partners Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre, with its transition into a national service to be led by a national NHS Board.
Safia Qureshi, director of evidence and digital at Healthcare Improvement Scotland, states that the app “presents a unique opportunity to deliver our advice and guidance at the point of care. This will significantly benefit patient safety, making it easier for health and care professionals to access the information they need to make the right decisions, at the right time. We hope that the future development of the Right Decision Service will have a significant, positive impact for health and care staff, freeing up more of their time and using resources available to them as efficiently as possible.”
We recently covered the new winter preparedness plan from the Scottish Government, which sets out a number of priorities relating to digital including helping people to receive care from home, integrating services and ensuring consistent messaging for the public and staff.
In August, we took a look at the digital health and care strategy delivery plan for 2023-2023 from the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, which sets out out core aims to give citizens better control over and access to their data; to help staff to record and share information across the system; and to provide researchers, planners and innovators with access to the data they need to improve efficiency and develop new ways of working.
