NHS trust deploys Qlik Cloud to improve data sharing and patient outcomes

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) has introduced Qlik Cloud data analytics to increase information sharing with external partners and improve patient care in the cloud.

The trust first deployed the Qlik data analytics platform on premise in 2012, which enabled all staff to easily access and analyse data for improved decision making.

Putting data directly into the hands of frontline teams empowered staff to drive efficiencies in hospital operations and improve patient outcomes.

For example, WWL was able to remove bottlenecks in patient care by enabling patient flow managers to easily capture data on-the-go regarding the number of patients awaiting discharge. These real-time insights enabled the trust to reduce the MRI wait time from 10 to two days.

It’s crucial that we share data with other health and social care providers and don’t maintain our separate silos to keep our population healthy

And the trust’s data leaders recognised that to further improve outcomes for patients, it needed to provide the wider health and care network with better access to patient data, facilitating a more-holistic and cohesive approach to care in the region.

To achieve this goal, WWL chose to extend deployment to Qlik Cloud to enable the sharing of data with associated organisations, including social care teams, GP surgeries, community health groups, mental health practitioners, and others.

“Over the past decade, Qlik has enabled us to put data at the heart of primary care and operational decision-making, equipping staff with real-time insights to make more informed decisions, transforming the patient experience, and improving outcomes”, said Mark Singleton, associate director of data analytics and assurance at the trust.

“Qlik now enables us to share our data with other health and care organisations, so we are able to take a joined-up and informed approach at every touchpoint in a patient’s care pathway.

“With the introduction of alerting capabilities, we will empower every organisation in our network to achieve Active Intelligence, where the data not only informs our actions, but will help community-based professionals, like GPs and social workers, to understand when their support is required.

“This will truly augment our ability to proactively help patients in the best-possible way as the need arises.”

Qlik Cloud has provided professionals across all touchpoints in the health and care system with essential, real-time insight into a patients’ healthcare journey so they can understand their full medical history and take informed actions.

With access to the right data at the right time, healthcare professionals are empowered to take more-informed actions and improve patient care

For example, WWL shares A&E data with GP surgeries, so the next time that individual visits their doctor, the GP has a complete view of whether a patient has been admitted to hospital, the reason for and duration of their stay, and any medication they received.

Similarly, social care workers are notified in real-time when a person they care for is admitted to hospital and does not require a home visit.

“Healthcare actually only contributes 15% to someone’s health and wellbeing,” said Singleton.

“The other 85% are broader determinants, such as their behaviours, social and environmental factors. Therefore, it’s crucial that we share data with other health and social care providers and don’t maintain our separate silos to keep our population healthy.”

Access to this data not only improves outcomes for patients by ensuring medical professionals are equipped with the most up-to-date, relevant information on a patients’ medical history, it also relieves healthcare workers of time previously spent searching through patients’ records, which can now be reinvested into primary care.

WWL is also planning to introduce new functionalities, such as proactive alerting, which will notify clinicians when a patient requires attention, such as a new medicine or direct intervention.

Senior management at WWL can also use Qlik to remotely check the hospital’s status updates via their mobile device, through Qlik’s enterprise-class security and governance for data, applications, and users. This means that senior leadership have data readily available when and where needed, even when working offsite.

“With access to the right data at the right time, healthcare professionals are empowered to take more-informed actions and improve patient care,” said Adam Mayer, senior manager at Qlik.

“By leveraging cloud-based data analytics, WWL is providing its network of health and care organisations with the complete picture of a patient’s medical interactions, so that every organisation can work together to provide a joined-up experience.

“This will not only transform the experience of the health and care organisations in its network, it will also improve the patient experience at every touchpoint.”