News: A paperless NHS is nearer than you think, Mr. Kelsey

Rotherham, United Kingdom December 19, 2012: A paperless NHS by 2015 could be nearer than Tim Kelsey, the NHS Commissioning Board’s national director of patients and information thinks, thanks to Strata Health’s system for e-referral and resource matching.

The NHS Commissioning Board’s planning guidance, issued yesterday, confirmed that a “paperless NHS” means paperless referrals by 2015. However, The Strata Health system currently in use in the UK has shown excellent results including those seen at The Rotherham Foundation Trust where, in partnership with Strata Health, they have developed a new e-referral system which connects health and social care teams across the hospital, community and wider Rotherham organisations supporting a better, more streamlined approach to handovers between teams.

The system initially supported electronic management of the legislated process within the Delayed Discharge Act 2002 (Section 2s and 5s). It’s part of a three year project to improve active communication between social and health care. Over the last year the Strata system has grown, enabling e-referrals between the hospital and community services. Hospital staff can now e-refer to District Nurse teams, Intermediate Care, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Breathing Space. Recently the Continence Team, Falls and Fracture team and the Inpatient Diabetes team were also added to the system. To date, the outcomes have delivered reduced delayed discharges, better communication, increased clinical team coordination, reduced operating costs – all contributing to meaningful cost savings and improved patient outcomes.

Work to further embed the system is underway, and the Trust is looking to implement e-referrals for the Stop Smoking Service, Cardiac Rehab team, Audiology and Domiciliary Physio over the next few weeks. A final phase will see the program reach even further out into the community to enable electronic matching of client need to packages of care; ensuring better, faster care to our aging population and increasing the level of choice and overall patient outcome.

In addition, working closely with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and key stakeholders, including Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC); The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust (TRFT) has made a number of recent developments relating to unscheduled care across the health and social care community in Rotherham. Strata Health has helped underpin this progression across core multi disciplinary teams (MDT’s) including Enhanced Care in the Community (formerly Virtual Wards), Fast Response Teams, and overall coordination across an integrated health and social care economy.

Clint Schick, Managing Director of Strata Health UK said “we have been working to introduce our system to the NHS since 2006. Where the system is being used, such as in Rotherham, the results have shown clear improvements to the process of referral and discharge of patients. There have been significant savings in time, money, efficiency and overall patient experience”.

About The Rotherham Foundation Trust:

The Rotherham Foundation Trust (TRFT) provides a wide range of services to the people of Rotherham and an increasing number of patients further a field. They were awarded Foundation Trust status in 2005, which means they are an independent body and free from government control and are registered by Monitor (the independent regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts).

About Strata Health UK Ltd.

Strata Health leverages technology to achieve dramatic patient flow improvement across integrated health and social care systems. Our clients say they’ve entrusted us with the job of creating patient flow solutions that achieve real and dramatic benefits for patients, their families and the world’s devoted front line caregiver’s. Strata Health Ltd is a UK based business and a wholly owned subsidiary of Strata Health Solutions, Inc. It is comprised of professionals with empathy for those who need care and intense respect for those who devote themselves to caring for others.