EHI Live 2013 preview: Using tablets to reduce costs and improve care

One of our health care partners, OCSL , will be joining Microsoft at EHI Live on 5-6 November, 2013.   Sarah Kennedy, Health Solutions Specialist from OCSL discusses here what the team will be showing at EHI Live .  

More and more NHS Trusts are faced with developing and improving the patient experience for less. At this year’s EHI Live, the team from OCSL will be sharing the story of how the Luton & Dunstable University Hospital Foundation Trust was able to achieve this feat by implementing a solution that not only provides better patient experience but will generate additional income.

How did they achieve this (I hear you ask?)

Maternity funding changes in April meant that midwives in Luton have gone from collecting 4 pages worth of data through a paper based system, to 27 screens, electronically, for improved Payment by Results. The data was previously captured on paper, which meant that required fields were not being completed. The data transfer from paper to the electronic system was the responsibility of an administrator. This method of collection was time consuming but also increased the possibility of data loss and incorrect information being entered.

There are three different maternity cost pathways a lady can be allocated to at Luton, all generating different income. Capturing this additional mandatory information at source, using HP Elitepads, enabled L&D to more accurately assign the appropriate cost of the patient.  This was decided based on the unique level of care required, from data captured and collated whilst on the move. The information department were then able to pull accurate reports enabling finance to invoice correctly.

Benefits achieved

Through the use of acceSSOnce, OCSL’s Clinical Desktop Solution, the midwives have captured, with accuracy and detail, real time data that is more valuable to the Trust Today and for future reference and analysis.  Blood Tests can be requested and results viewable on demand as well as improved communication between departments, in particularly, the obstetrics unit. Windows 8 and the introduction of touch computing was enthusiastically embraced by the workforce which enabled a seamless transition between processes.

Due to the solution being reliant on a 3G connection, L&D worked closely with HD Clinical to develop an offline app with a mandatory criteria set.  When Wi-Fi wasn’t available, the information could still be captured and exported directly into the maternity system as soon as a connection had been re-established. Since Luton have been using this solution, they have generated an additional £440K this quarter -- simply through the appropriate and accurate use of clinical coding.

Of course. there’s much more to the story. Come speak with an OCSL team member at EHI Live to learn more about what L&D have achieved -- and how other health organisations can use tablets improve their services whilst reducing costs.

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