Building Better Healthcare takes a look at the latest technologies NHS Trusts have integrated into their systems to advance their digital evolution in November 2024.
November saw the release of the independent review into health data by Professor Cathie Sudlow OBE. The review, Uniting the UK’s Health Data: A Huge Opportunity for Society, was released on 8 November.
Cathie Sudlow is Professor of Neurology and Clinical Epidemiology and Head of the Centre for Medical Informatics at the Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics at the University of Edinburgh.
The independent review was commissioned by the Chief Medical Officer for England, the UK National Statistician and NHS England’s National Director for Transformation in 2023.
In the review, Sudlow highlights five key barriers to overcome in order to improve the health data ecosystem.
The key barriers are:
- Fragmentation of health data: The UK's health data is scattered across multiple systems and organisations, with limited interoperability. This fragmentation makes it hard to effectively link datasets and identify actionable insights.
- Underutilised data for research: Data integration could potentially lead to breakthroughs in understanding and managing diseases like cancer, but data is currently underutilised for research.
- Complex legal and regulatory frameworks: Different data-sharing laws across the UK and a lack of consistent procedures for accessing data significantly delay research and reveals concerns about breaching privacy laws.
- Administrative burden of data-sharing requirements: Data sharing could potentially add to administrative tasks, which is time-consuming.
- Economic and healthcare impact: Linking health data with economic and employment information could inform policies to reduce the impact of illness on workforce participation.
Overall, the review calls for action to overcome these barriers, highlighting the need for streamlined data governance, greater interoperability between systems, and improved public trust through transparency and engagement with patients and professionals.
The findings of the review highlight the transformative potential of linked health datasets to improve healthcare outcomes, accelerate research, and support policy decisions critical to public health and economic stability.
However, some NHS Trusts have successfully integrated their electronic systems and transformed their pathology pathways, mental health services, and diagnostic image sharing with digital solutions.
The Trusts and companies that have made partnerships are:
- NHS Trusts
- Sectra
- Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
- Answer Digital
- Northern Health and Social Care Trust
- Clinisys
- NHS Trusts
- XR Therapeutics
- Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Alcidion
- GP surgeries
- X-on Health
Image exchange portal
Sectra's national image exchange portal is now used in all acute hospital trusts in England, expanding beyond the NHS to stroke networks, cancer research organisations, private healthcare groups, and teleradiology providers.
Sectra is a Sweden-based global provider of imaging IT solutions, and their system was first introduced into the NHS in 2009, to allow trusts to share images.
More than 450,000 individuals currently use the image exchange portal
Increased reliance on the independent sector to help tackle diagnostic backlogs and growing patient demand for access to their images have boosted the portal's use beyond organisational boundaries.
More than 450,000 individuals currently use the image exchange portal. In 2023, the portal transmitted close to 12m patient imaging studies, compared to approximately 2.8m studies in 2012.
eRS integration
Answer Digital, a UK-based software company has developed an eRS integration solution in collaboration with Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust.
The automation has also resulted in a 50% reduction in the effort required to process referrals, delivering significant time savings for the trust
The solution enabled the Trust to integrate its Electronic Referral Service (eRS) with its Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system, speeding up its referral processes and enhancing patient care.
The automation has also resulted in a 50% reduction in the effort required to process referrals, delivering significant time savings for the trust.
Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
The CoreLIMS programme is a large-scale initiative aimed at modernising pathology services across Northern Ireland's health and social care system.
The programme involves deploying the Clinisys WinPath Enterprise Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) to the five Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts, the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service (NIBTS), and the Genomics Medicine Centre.
The CoreLIMS programme is a large-scale initiative aimed at modernising pathology services across Northern Ireland's health and social care system
Pathology services across Northern Ireland have now achieved the completion of phase three of the CoreLIMS programme to deploy Clinisys WinPath to all five health and social care trusts and the blood transfusion service.
Clinisys is a UK-based global specialist in laboratory information systems (LIS) and clinical diagnostics solutions.
Immersive technology
XR Therapeutics, a UK-based mental health business, is combining immersive technology with traditional therapeutic methods such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) to enhance the effectiveness of mental health care, reduce treatment times, and improve the quality of life for those struggling with their mental health.
Patients can experience controlled scenarios. For example, for someone with social anxiety, a therapist can simulate a trip to a supermarket, adjusting factors like the number of people present, noise levels, and even the interaction with store staff. This helps patients confront their fears in a safe, customisable environment.
Therapists control every element of the immersive scenario
Therapists control every element of the immersive scenario, tailoring it to the patient's specific needs, which accelerates the therapeutic process.
The technology is built on over a decade of research from Newcastle University and the Cumbria Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.
XR Therapeutics is already collaborating with multiple NHS trusts, including two in the North East and others in Sheffield and Manchester.
Clinical system
Emergency departments in Andover War Memorial Hospital, Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, and Royal Hampshire County Hospital managed by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have deployed Alcidion’s Miya Emergency.
Miya Emergency is a clinical system designed to improve the efficiency and workflow within emergency departments (A&E). It helps digitise and automate traditionally paper-based processes, such as data collection and generating clinical assessments, forms, and tasks.
The system integrates with the digital systems of other trusts, reducing administrative burdens and helping streamline patient workflows from admission to discharge.
This system also enables real-time visibility across multiple departments, supporting better patient management and coordination of care across hospital trusts.
Further, the system integrates with the digital systems of other trusts, reducing administrative burdens and helping streamline patient workflows from admission to discharge.
It also connects to the Electronic Patient Record (EPR), improving communication, particularly with GP practices. This deployment is part of the trust's broader paper-free strategy and aims to inform future regional EPR initiatives
Virtual support assistant
X-on Health, a UK-based telecom service provider, has acquired Hanley.
Hanley has recently introduced its own technology solution, EDATT, which is a virtual support assistant for patients, and independent research confirms that it is proven to reduce inbound telephone calls and increase NHS App utilisation.
This enables busy reception teams to better cope with demand. One early adopter practice has already experienced 54% fewer calls in the 8am rush as a result of the solution and applied nationally it is estimated that the service could result in 9.1 million fewer calls received per month by GP surgeries.
The latest version of EDATT was launched at Best Practice Birmingham in October 2024, and will be rebranded Surgery Assist.