Tag: NHS Trusts

Gloucestershire CCG – 100% of people agree that the MIG drastically improves patient safety

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Gloucestershire CCG – 100% of people agree that the MIG drastically improves patient safety

GP practices across Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group have been accessing and sharing patient records via the Medical Interoperability Gateway (MIG) to save up to 2.5 hours of clinician time each day.

Six units from Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust took part in the pilot including the Diabetes unit, Podiatry, and Integrated Community teams.

A survey of users who took part in pilot was conducted. 100% of those who were surveyed said that having access to GP records drastically improves patient safety. Patients and clinicians were satisfied as explicit consent is always gained from the patient at the point of care.

“Having access to GP records at your fingertips makes a huge difference. Clinicians would usually have to make a phone call or gain this information via fax or email. Having a real time view when you need it and not even having to log into the system undoubtedly saves time and improves patient safety.”

Bolaji Jegede Project Manager at NHS South Central and West Commissioning Group
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What were the benefits?

Practices recorded saving up to 2.5 hours a day of clinician time with access to GP records via the MIG. This was achieved by saving time in finding or checking patient information, medicines reconciliation and managing a presenting clinical situation.

"The MIG provides a major change in the way people work. It's quick to display the data you need when you need it, making a real difference at the point of care. I would definitely recommend the MIG."

Bolaji Jegede Project Manager at NHS South Central and West Commissioning Group

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University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay and NHS Lancashire North CCG – Using palliative care data

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University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay and NHS Lancashire North CCG – Using palliative care data

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay and NHS Lancashire North CCG are using our End of Life Care Dataset to share patient information between hospitals in the North West.

Background

There’s been a strong history of good palliative care in the North West. The ambition is to provide gold standard end of life care to patients wherever they present but there was a fundamental problem. Necessary information was stuck in the GP record which meant the hospitals weren’t getting the information they needed.

What did we do?

We worked in partnership with the hospital and the CCG to implement the Detailed Care Record (DCR) and Specialist Datasets. They needed to implement the DCR before they could share the Electronic Palliative Care Co-ordination Systems (EPaCCS) record with the hospital.

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The MIG shows relevant end of life information from the GP practices as a view inside Lorenzo, the hospital’s clinical system. The interoperability the MIG offers means the hospital didn’t have to replace their current software to have access to this information as it was integrated with their current system from the GP records.

How have they benefited?

Tim Reynard, GP clinical lead for Health Informatics at Lancashire North CCG, believes there are three main benefits;

1.    Automatic alerts

The patient’s supportive care record is automatically shown as an alert; if there is one present. As only about 1% of patients coming into hospital have a palliative care record, doctors might not have checked whether one is present as a matter of course.

2.    Delicate handling of sensitive information

Having access to a patient’s preferences enhances the patient experience by making healthcare professionals aware of what end of life care has been decided upon. It can be distressing for patients to repeat what their preferences are.

Also if the patient has deteriorated and is not able to state their preference, there is break glass functionally in the MIG, which means that consent couldn’t be given but a reason for accessing the record can be provided for an audit.

3.    Spend more time with patients

Healthcare professionals having access to the same information for palliative care means that there is less duplication in data entry and will free up staff time to spend more time with patients.

“The nurses and team absolutely love it, it's extremely useful. Having this information available to colleagues undoubtedly empowers the patient.”

Tim Reynard, GP clinical lead for Health Informatics at Lancashire North CCG

What’s next?

The roll out of the project is being led by the palliative care team who will train the other teams in the hospital.

A&E and acute care are using the information at the moment and they want to share the data with other healthcare teams, such as out of hours (OOH).

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Oxfordshire CCG – Safer, more efficient care with the MIG

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Oxford CCG

Oxfordshire CCG – Safer, more efficient care with the MIG

Acute and urgent care clinicians across Oxfordshire are using the Medical Interoperability Gateway (MIG) to provide safer, more efficient care to over 1,000 patients a month.

Nearly 250 staff, from A&E doctors to out of hours GPs and hospital pharmacists are now able to view real-time GP patient record through the MIG.

Twelve months after going live with the Oxfordshire Care Summary project, an overwhelming 96% of users* said it is helping them to give safer, speedier care. 80% have also reported better clinical outcomes for patients.

How have they benefited?

The MIG has provided them with important information which includes recent medical history, test results, current drugs and allergies. This has allowed them to make faster, better treatment decisions and cut down on phone calls and paper administration.

Oxford CCG
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“The MIG has revolutionised the way pharmacists work on the wards. We are saving a huge amount of time when patients are admitted, because we have access to the information we need within seconds. Before, it took up to 15 minutes per patient to get information by phone and fax. Now, for example, we can check an unconscious patient’s allergy status in seconds, and ensure they are not prescribed inappropriate drugs at a critical part of the treatment. It means safer, better care leading to speedier discharge, and less chance of readmission due to adverse drug reactions.”

Paul Devenish, Pharmacy Clinical Services Manager at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust

The MIG has also helped junior hospital doctors  who take the majority of patient drug histories on admission. They can make more accurate records and draw up safer, more tailored treatment protocols. Pharmacists were able to make savings on drugs because they were better able to assess what medication is needed on discharge to the GP’s care.

Maggie Lay, Clinical Transformation lead at NHS Central Southern Commissioning Support Unit said the MIG was ‘extraordinarily useful’ for clinicians caring for long term conditions.

“Our diabetic consultant in particular is finding that he has far more relevant information on patients referred by their GP. On some occasions he has been able to stop the prescribing of an inappropriate drug. The big advantage of the MIG is that it is real time data, when it’s needed, and where it’s needed.”

Maggie Lay, Clinical Transformation lead at NHS Central Southern Commissioning Support Unit

What next?

“As a commissioner, I am excited about the possibility of setting up integrated care teams of community, social care, acute and emergency staff who will be able to consult shared patient records and care plans via the MIG. We hope that eventually patients will be able to access their records too and become involved in self-care.  Besides being better coordinated, this will bring significant economic benefits for healthcare in Oxfordshire.”

Dr Paul Park, GP and Chief Clinical Information Officer for Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group

*Survey of 77 MIG users carried out by NHS Central Southern Commissioning Support Unit in February and March 2014

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