Next, we have the finalists in the category of ‘Health Tech Digital Pathway and Workflow Optimisation’.
Islacare
Overview: Sharing patient data between acute and community providers to support the continuation of care in stroke rehabilitation at Nottinghamshire Healthcare FT.
Why? Sharing information between clinical teams at different organisations poses security risks and information governance issues which often prevent clinical teams from accessing patient data. Stroke rehabilitation is a complex pathway involving many multi-disciplinary teams, and this poses interoperability issues.
What happened? Islacare’s solution has been used within the acute care setting to capture videos of patients on the stroke wards, baselining patient’s rehabilitation therapies and monitoring their progress on the ward. The clinical team at Nottinghamshire Healthcare FT have been able to review the patient’s record and capture relevant data using the platform, and this capture and sharing of data has enabled different organisations to work collaboratively to support patient care and enhance ESD. A reduction of time spent on inreach from 2 hours to 30 minutes per patient has been observed, and full implementation of the model results in a saving of 540 clinical hours annually per NHS Trust. Referrals reduce time patients spend. waiting for orthotics, reducing time to treatment and the need to monitor the patient for any potential deterioration whilst waiting for their orthotics.
Looking ahead. Islacare hopes to continue the positive impact of its solution to promote continuation of care and information sharing amongst multi-disciplinary teams, for patients recovering from stroke.
Hanley Consulting
Overview: Enabling Digital Access Through Telephony (EDATT) is a white labelled automated chatbot which enables patients to access services digitally, reducing staff pressure and improving patient experience. It has expanded across practices and PCNs, addressing low digital literacy and aiming to boost efficiency. In partnership with Maple PCN, Hanley Consulting undertook and completed the pilot programme and have created an automated digital solution to support patients and practices to access services digitally and improve digital literacy across the registered population.
Why? Data suggested that low uptake of digital tools, due to a lack of awareness and poor digital literacy, is impacting surgeries’ ability to meet demand with the capacity they have. As unmet telephone demand increases so does the pressure on reception teams. This pressure leads to staff retention issues which further compounds the problem. EDATT is designed to increase the uptake of digital services and thereby enable an increasing number of patients to self-serve. The product has been built across multiple platforms to reach as many people as possible and offer standardised access for all. EDATT ensures that patients are offered a digital alternative automatically within the telephone system call flow as an added option (auto attendant).
What happened? The implementation of EDATT across two Maple GP surgeries increased the use of digital triage by 300 percent in six months, and GP time saved has risen from 12 hours to 56.7 hours per month as a result of signposting self-care, pharmacy and ARRS physio. The survey responses and out-of-hours activity suggests that patients are eager to be digitally enabled to access services 24/7 and avoid the 8am rush.
Looking ahead. Hanley Consulting are now working to use patient feedback to improve the chatbot interactions and pathways going forward, alongside introducing the ability for patients to feedback which appointments they would like to book digitally.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and Altera Digital Health
Overview: Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells (MTW) and Altera Digital Health developed a digital infrastructure clinic, Virtual Fracture Clinic (VFC) within Altera’s Sunrise electronic patient record. The VFC is a service designed to expedite access to orthopaedic care for patients attending A&E across MTW, providing an end-to-end digital pathway from admission in ED through to inpatient, theatre and outpatient services such as physiotherapy.
Why? Before the pathway was digitised, the referral process relied on complex spreadsheets and manual data entry. Collating information was very time consuming, which resulted in delays in patient treatment and operational inefficiencies such as transcription errors. Patient information was also inaccessible to staff outside the VFC, which meant clinical staff were unable to view the outcomes of the initial triage leading patients to wait unnecessarily in ED before teams could advise them.
What happened? The trust configured a VFC with its Altera Digital Health Sunrise EPR, digitising the entire pathway from ED to inpatient, theatre, and outpatient services. The solution was co-developed by the EPR team and the VFC clinical project team, with input from service users and clinicians. Introducing the system has reduced the duplication of printing, scanning, and data entry, saving the trust £8,574 per annum in printing costs. Approximately 75 percent of all fracture referrals are now digital, which is saving up to eight days’ worth of admin time per month. Furthermore, Sunrise allows VFC staff direct access to inpatient records, increasing efficiency by ensuring the patient is on the correct care pathway, improving continuity of care and overall experience.
Looking ahead. Based on the success of the referral solution, the VFC has set an example for other departments, who have adopted similar approaches, highlighting the transferability of the project. The Rapid Eye Access Team are keen to explore with the EPR team simpler ways to process internal referrals. Adopting the design of the VFC solution, they will soon be using Sunrise to view and triage referrals.
Solutions 4 Health Ltd
Overview: Solutions 4 Health (S4H) are a CQC registered clinical, lifestyle, social care, and technology services company set up in 2008 to tackle health inequalities and provide innovation to the public health space. Built in collaboration with Thurrock Council, Ask Teddi is an AI powered mobile app supporting parents & guardians to give their child the best start to life. It is built by synthesising advances in conversational AI, evidence-based data, insights from key subject matter experts and resources. Teddi is a 0-5 robo-expert providing interactive evidence-based support which enables families to have 24/7 on demand access to an expert when raising their child.
Why? The childhood years play a critical role in laying the foundations for future health, economic, and social outcomes. Children are becoming overweight at an increasingly younger age, nationally 28 percent of children aged 2-15 are overweight or obese. Mental health issues are also increasingly impacting families; 68 percent of women and 57 percent of men with mental health problems are parents. Ask Teddi provides accessible and useful support for new parents and the professionals who support them, with an additional layer of localised support and information.
What happened? A joint evaluation by the University of Swansea and the University of Essex found that parents and professions regarded the Ask Teddi app as valuable and accessible. The majority of users felt that the app increased their knowledge, confidence and positive behaviours relating to infant feeding, health diet, oral health, and active play.
Looking ahead. Solutions 4 Health will continue to monitor user feedback from the Ask Teddi app to inform the software’s future development.
