Driving efficiency in the NHS

Seventy per cent of people believe that improved information technology in NHS Trusts contributes towards better care for patients, according to new research commissioned by Dictate It, a provider of digital dictation, speech recognition and transcription software and hardware to the NHS. The poll of over 1,200 people from across Britain also revealed that 89% think that it is possible to increase efficiency within the NHS, but only 25% believed that this could be achieved by increased spending. There has been growing public anxiety over the effect on patient care since the previous Health Secretary Andy Burnham’s admission last September that the NHS needs to save between £15 billion and £20 billion. However, former head of strategy at the Department of Health, Penny Dash, recently claimed that spending cuts within the NHS need not necessarily affect quality of care, and that existing funds should be directed to efficiency-driven initiatives such as increased utilisation of information technology. Mark Miller, managing director of Dictate It, commented: “We already work with 27 NHS Trusts across the country, and are expecting to see this expand, as more Trusts recognise the value of IT in making their budgets go even further, while also improving performance.” Further reinforcing a widespread desire for improved efficiency, the research also revealed that 65% of the public would vote for outsourcing of NHS administration, if the result was extra funding for patient care. Mark Miller continued: “From both a clinical and an administrative point of view, NHS Trusts that invest in digital dictation and transcription systems are seeing rapid returns. They are more efficient without compromising on security, resulting in better frontline care for patients, and, as this research proves, efficiencies using IT are being driven from the patient side as well.” Dictate It’s patient data management platform integrates dictation, speech recognition and transcription of doctor’s notes, delivering a hybrid solution that is bespoke to the Trust and can be assimilated into existing systems. With workflow securely managed online, the NHS is able to provide better patient safety, comply with legal requirements for document turnaround times and reduce backlogs. One of the early adopters of the technology has been the Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which comprises two hospitals – the London Road Community Hospital and the recently opened £334 m Royal Derby Hospital. Together they provide planned and emergency healthcare to a population of over 600,000 from Southern Derbyshire. The Trust also provides more specialist services which attract patients from both neighbouring counties and further afield. The hospital’s IT systems, both clinical and non-clinical, are some of the most advanced within the NHS. Derby uses the McKesson Totalcare PAS and some of the iCM suite of products for the provision of Electronic Patient Records (EPR). IT services are managed through three key areas: EPR and IT projects, patient administration and the IT operational support. At present, there are 50 major IT projects being managed through the team.

Challenges

At the beginning of 2009, the Trust recognised the need to review administration and secretarial workflows. It was decided that Derby needed a system that would enable the most efficient ways of working, in order to support and realise Trust and national targets. In terms of patient data recording and management, the Trust required a solution that included audit and activity reporting to support workstream programmes and care pathways. In terms of dictation and transcription, this required replacing outdated analogue tape devices with solid state digital recorders to improve user functionality.