Building Better Healthcare takes a look at the latest technologies NHS Trusts have integrated into their systems to advance its digital evolution in October 2024.
According to the Autumn Budget 2024, "In implementing the settlement, DHSC (including the NHS) will deliver 2% productivity next year"
This comes in the wake of the government publishing its Autumn Budget 2024 in which the government stated that it will invest more than £2 billion in technology and digital for the NHS to run essential services and drive NHS productivity with the following aims:
- Freeing up staff time
- Ensure all Trusts have Electronic Patient Records
- Improve cyber security
- Enhance patient access through the NHS App
According to the Autumn Budget 2024, "In implementing the settlement, DHSC (including the NHS) will deliver 2% productivity next year."
NHS Trusts have already adopted technology and digital systems to help them deliver improved services. In October NHS Trusts adopted systems based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reduce waiting times and streamline processes while others have adopted systems that not only reduce missed appointments but contribute to sustainability goals by reducing paper usage by digitising letters.
The Trusts and companies that have made partnerships are:
- North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
- InterSystems
- The Groves Medical Centre
- Rapid Health
- Healthcare Innovation Consortium (HIC)
- Navenio
- Black Country Integrated Care System (ICS)
- Healthcare Communications
- Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
- Better
- Alcidion
- The AI Centre for Value-Based Healthcare (AI4VBH) and King's Health Partners
- Deepc
Triaging system
In October 2023, The Groves Medical Centre, a family GP practice in Surrey and South West London implemented Smart Triage, an AI-powered autonomous patient triaging system by Rapid Health, a health technology company.
The study showed that the AI-powered autonomous patient triaging system reduced GP practice waiting times by 73%
An independent real-world evaluation, funded by Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex, one of 15 health innovation networks across England, and conducted by Unity Insights, measured the impact of autonomous patient triage between October 2023 and February 2024.
The study showed that the AI-powered autonomous patient triaging system reduced GP practice waiting times by 73%.
AI-driven indoor location solutions
Healthcare Innovation Consortium (HIC), a digital transformation consultancy, has partnered with Navenio, a provider of AI-driven indoor location solutions.
The partnership fosters and enables a strong alliance to drive greater innovation across the healthcare sector
This collaboration will provide Navenio's clients with seamless access to the NHS SBS (Shared Business Services) framework, a well-established procurement channel widely used across NHS organisations.
The partnership fosters and enables a strong alliance to drive greater innovation across the healthcare sector, providing both operational support and strategic guidance.
ICS-wide patient engagement portal
Black Country Integrated Care System (ICS) is rolling out an ICS-wide patient engagement portal by communications specialist, Healthcare Communications. The aim is to improve patient experience, reduce waiting lists, and make financial savings.
The system is already live at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. A final implementation at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust will follow later this year. They form an extensive digital programme to digitise patient engagement for 1.21m residents.
Healthcare Communications’ intuitive platform has reduced costly and inefficient paper processes and carbon footprints
Each Trust is using the patient portal platform to deliver digital appointment letters and attachments directly to people’s smartphones to book, change or cancel their appointments at the click of a button.
Healthcare Communications’ intuitive platform has reduced costly and inefficient paper processes and carbon footprints, as well as replacing legacy systems that did not meet accessibility compliance standards.
Electronic prescribing and medicine management (EPMA) system
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust has partnered with Better and Alcidion to roll out the Better Meds electronic prescribing and medicine management (EPMA) system and integrate it into the trust’s EPR system.
According to the Trust, a key reason for moving to Better Meds was to release time for care because it makes medication processes more efficient
Better Meds EPMA system is by Better, a digital health company focused on transforming care delivery by creating interoperable, digital health platforms and Alcidion is a digital health company that provides innovative technology solutions to the NHS.
According to the Trust, a key reason for moving to Better Meds was to release time for care because it makes medication processes more efficient.
Health information system
InterSystems, an innovative data technology provider dedicated to helping customers solve the most critical data and information challenges, has announced that North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust has extended the rollout of InterSystems TrakCare (trademarked) health information system to streamline Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions and documentation.
With this added functionality, the trust has saved over 25,000 clinical hours in the last 12 months, time that has been invested directly back into enhancing patient care.
TrakCare now provides the ICU care team with up-to-date patient records
Prior to using this new initiative, ICU admissions involved completing a 45-page paper document for each patient, which often delayed access to patient information.
Now, with the help of InterSystems TrakCare as its Electronic Patient Record (EPR), the time the team needs to complete each ICU admission is reduced on average by 33%. With an annual average of 837 ICU admissions, this transformation saves considerable time for staff and patients.
In addition, TrakCare now provides the ICU care team with up-to-date patient records, minimising errors associated with manual data entry and ensuring that critical information is always readily accessible to the care team.
Radiology AI platform
The new collaboration between The AI Centre for Value-Based Healthcare (AI4VBH), King's Health Partners, and Deepc, aims to accelerate the adoption and deployment of radiology AI in the NHS.
The AI Centre for Value-Based Healthcare (AI4VBH) is a consortium of academic, healthcare, and industry organizations working to apply AI in healthcare to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.
The Centre is led by King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, it collaborates with multiple NHS trusts, tech companies, and universities.
King's Health Partners is academic health sciences center in London, combining expertise in healthcare, education, and research to improve patient outcomes.
Radiology is fundamental to the diagnostic process with approximately 133,000 scans produced every day in the UK
Deepc is a radiology AI platform.
The collaboration will see Deepc deploy its industry-leading platform, DeepcOS, to accelerate and scale the adoption of radiology AI technologies efficiently, safely and securely across six leading NHS Trusts, with the intention to expand to 10 Trusts.
Radiology is fundamental to the diagnostic process with approximately 133,000 scans produced every day in the UK, but the NHS faces a 29% shortfall of clinical radiologists to analyse those images.
Radiology AI has the potential to relieve these backlogs by increasing the number of scans radiologists can analyse while improving the accuracy of the diagnosis.