Ideagen launches enhanced PatientFirst software

Published: 16-Oct-2017

Launch follows Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS) revamp

Ideagen has launched an enhanced version of its PatientFirst product following an overhaul of emergency care management in England.

The PatientFirst update will allow NHS England organisations to capture indepth patient and emergency care data to improve operational awareness for senior management and enhance the patient experience throughout A&E.

The update comes following the launch of the new Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS) on 1 October. It will replace the current-but-dated A&E Commissioning Data Set (CDS).

Paul Kenyon, senior business analyst at Ideagen, said: “The launch of the new ECDS will be a major overhaul for NHS England organisations who have been used to capturing and reporting on data in the same way for over 30 years.

“Emergency care has moved on, and so have the needs of patients.

The current CDS struggles to handle modern demographics going through the emergency care process and the structure and landscape of A&E has changed significantly with the introduction of specialised units, such as paediatric and minor injury units for example.”

He added: “Ideagen’s PatientFirst has met this proposed change head on and will make it easier for organisations to meet the requirements of the new ECDS.

“It brings with it more granularity in terms of reporting and will make it easier to track a patient’s journey through the department.

“For management, they will be able to analyse data quicker and easier than before and assess the performance of their department over a set period of time. For example, this could help with advanced bed management as they will be able to see what periods they expect a higher footfall passing through the A&E department.”

Healthcare organisations will be required to report to the ECDS on a weekly basis with a cut-off date of March 2019 to be fully up and running in terms of quality and frequency of data capture.

NHS England has set a five-phased approach to be ready for the 2019 deadline.

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