Technology that gives instant alerts about patients to healthcare staff, and allows them to communicate over a secure social network, has transformed how teams work and has significantly improved patient care, according to Dr Michael Bedford, a renal research registrar at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust (EKHUFT).
The department is making use of real-time mobile alerts about acute kidney injury patients. Once alerted, the medical team, often spread across multiple sites, are able to discuss the next steps via a secure social media style system of messaging and responding.
The first four months of the pilot, with DocCom’s Notify and Careflow software, have shown faster decision-making, enhanced patient care and improved overall efficiency within East Kent’s renal department.
Commenting on the project, Dr Bedford said: “This technology really does have the ability to transform how we work and ultimately, improve patient care.” The team were frustrated that their existing system of emails, text messaging and paging, combined with face-to-face meetings, was resulting in delays for patients and healthcare teams alike.
Dr Chris Farmer, associate medical director for IT at EKHUFT, said: “In the past, we have seen cases where a patient has arrived at A&E and there has been an unavoidable delay before they are seen by a specialist in charge of their care. With the DocCom systems in place, the right people have been informed of the patient’s arrival immediately, and a specialist has been with the patient within an hour.”
Dr Stevens urges other Trusts to come and witness what can be achieved with the technology. He said: “For Trusts that are willing to adopt and embrace social technology, I believe the possibilities are endless. We could see major improvements in communication between primary and secondary care for the explicit benefit of patients. With the DocCom systems developed, all Trusts need to do is invest in the infrastructure to make these improvements a reality.”
DocCom claims that cost savings can be made. For example, a 20% reduction in an acute kidney injury patient’s length of stay would translate to savings for the hospital of up to £7.7 m a year.
