NEW MODELS OF CARE
Times are changing and healthcare must too – but what does that mean in practice, and how can we design care with digital at the heart of it? Open Medical and Canon shed light on how their solutions can help you implement new models of care.
From Delayed to Delivered: 1% to 99% with eDerma
Timely diagnosis and treatment can make the difference between life and death for those suffering from skin cancer. Unfortunately, only 3% of NHS England trusts are meeting critical skin cancer targets. The stakes have never been higher, and the current models of care cannot keep up.
Our imperative is clear – we need efficient solutions that can drastically reduce cancer waiting times, enable earlier diagnosis, lower the likelihood of complications, and improve patient outcomes and experiences. Achieving this will require a complete re-evaluation of care models and the adoption of innovative solutions proven to deliver results.
Open Medical has risen to the challenge with our cloud-based digital solution, Pathpoint eDerma, which has exceeded all expectations. The introduction of eDerma at a healthcare site just 3 months ago has already yielded remarkable results. Dermatologists were able to evaluate 99% of referrals within 14 days, compared to less than 1% prior to the implementation of eDerma. They are now operating with greater efficiency, and patients can rest easy knowing their potential cancer is being addressed promptly.
And that’s not all – eDerma has propelled them towards meeting the faster diagnostic standard of 28 days to diagnosis. Since eDerma, 52.9% of patients received a clinical diagnosis or treatment plan within 14 days, with an average of 5.6 days, compared to 3.7% prior to its deployment.
But what truly sets eDerma apart is its adaptability, seamlessly integrating into any clinical setting regardless of project size or scope. It connects regions, trusts, departments, and countless users via a reliable interface. It adjusts to the specific requirements and overarching strategic goals of an ICS as well as individual healthcare organisations.
At Our Healthier South East London ICS, eDerma is boosting service efficiency by leveraging specialised teams to triage patients across all 3 trusts. It is fully automated, reducing administrative effort and increasing staff capacity. In their care model, eDerma collects patient referral information through live e-RS integration, obtains clinical history and patient consent via a questionnaire that is directly sent to patients, and medical photography teams can upload high-quality lesion images onto the platform. eDerma revolutionises their skin cancer pathway in a way that is best suited to them.
The platform’s effectiveness is reflected in the overwhelmingly positive feedback received from both patients and healthcare providers. Patients are satisfied with the service, questionnaire, and overall experience, while healthcare providers have found it easy to navigate.
Dr. Bernadette De Silva, MBBS, FRCP, a consultant dermatologist at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, stated, “We have been using eDerma in our department since 2018. The platform is easy to use and enables us to carry out gold standard teledermatology seamlessly with an end-to-end solution. The integration of eDerma with the NHS spine is invaluable. We obtain real-life analytical data on our workload on the platform, which is also invaluable for further service development. We are excited about further customisation and expansion of the platform.”
The need for effective solutions in skin cancer care has never been greater, and eDerma by Open Medical is proving to be the answer. As the prevalence of skin cancer rises, we must invest in effective solutions to ensure patients receive timely and efficient services while healthcare providers are equipped with the necessary supportive tools. With eDerma, the future of skin cancer care is brighter than ever before.
CDC success at Victoria Infirmary, Northwich creates ideal model for future patient pathway reforms
The success of Northwich’s Victoria Infirmary (VIN) Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) has enabled more patients to be seen in Cheshire for quick frontline diagnostic imaging, reducing waiting times and freeing up pressure on other acute hospital scanners. In less than a year, thousands more patients have attended for CT scans and other tests at this same day, improving the quality of care experience and reducing the need for multiple attendances at different hospital locations.
The modular CT building has been fully integrated onto the existing Victoria Infirmary listed building by Canon Medical Systems UK. The turnkey project involved creating the additional CT scanning facility by demolishing an old casualty building, knocking through and adding an integrated modular building containing an AI-assisted Aquilion Prime SP CT scanner.
Karen Bowman, General Manager, Victoria Infirmary, part of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust states, “Two thousand outpatient, follow-up or high-risk query CT scans have been enabled in 9 months due to the creation of the CDC at VIN. This means more people have been seen sooner than would have been previously possible – we’re even calling people to arrange CT scans on the same day they have seen their GP. The dedicated CDC also means that the pressure burden on our acute hospital scanners at Leighton Hospital has been relieved. That’s thousands of CT appointments removed from our front-line acute scanners giving them the dedicated focus they need for emergency or advanced imaging such as cardiac and CT colonoscopy. We’re now seeing happy, grateful patients and this has had a direct impact on our radiology team, increasing morale with reduced pressure.”
“The future aim of outpatient diagnostics is making more tests available and closer to patients,” continues Karen Bowman. “The CDC model has proven itself here and given us confidence. As we start to plan our new hospital, we will look to focus on provision for acutely unwell patients and those with higher-risk, elective care needs and move more diagnostics and non-hospital reliant services closer to our patients’ homes. The success of the CDC so far has also enabled us to start conversations about enhancing other care pathways via a ‘one-stop-shop’ approach such as our cancer services.”
Michael Potts, CDC Imaging Lead at VIN adds, “Canon Medical worked closely with us on the modular building and kept construction noise and disturbance on a hospital site to a minimum. The Aquilion Prime SP CT scanner will be our fourth Canon Medical scanner at the Trust and it keeps meeting our expectations. It brings the renowned Advanced Intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AICE) for phenomenal image quality at low dose and high speed, plus provides additional advanced applications that help with clinical procedures. This includes Single Energy Metal Artifact Reduction (SEMAR) to work around visualising elderly patients with prostheses, stents, pacemakers or tooth replacements; and SURESubtraction to enhance iodine imaging with colour mapping.”
Billy Erwin, Account Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK states, “Separating acute and outpatient care is at the heart of the CDC philosophy to create efficiencies and speed up patient diagnosis. Victoria Infirmary has achieved so much already by embracing its CDC opportunity and we look forward to supporting them to optimise future plans to streamline pathways and evolve its community service offerings.”
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