EHI Special Report – Business Intelligence

Debbie Williams

Blog, Friday 24th June 2011

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In the latest EHI Special Report on Business Intelligence in the NHS, Tom Mulhern, CEO of Ardentia, comments on the increasing sophistication of care providers in their approach to and use of patient level costing information.

The report looks at how trusts in England have been gathering, analysing and interpreting patient-level information to give clinicians a complete view of the care delivered to patients, and the associated costs. This in turn enables meaningful, evidence-based dialogue between commissioners and providers.

The report focuses on Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, and how it produces a detailed account of care services delivered and costs for every patient it treats, as a result of implementing Ardentia’s Patient Level Costing solution.

Tom said: “At that level of granularity, Trusts are able to get into comparing treatment costs for patients with similar conditions across different clinicians. It is not an easy process but the value from what you can achieve is enormous.”

You can read the full EHI report here

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EHI Interview: Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust

Debbie Williams

Blog, Friday 24th June 2011

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EHI reporter Daloni Carlisle recently interviewed Fiona Boyle, finance manager at Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, about the Trust’s use of Ardentia’s business intelligence solutions.

The Trust is using a solution that allows them to drill down to patient level, analyse the cost components e.g. theatre time, medical staff time, ward and drug costs etc and compare these against the income received for the patient’s treatment.

Fiona said: “The solution provides you with an insight that you just don’t get as a management accountant working with a hospital division. We can begin to see where practice differs and how this drives costs. We have managed to find areas where our local policies were not set appropriately and this has influenced next year’s contracting decisions”

She believes that this level of insight will  help significantly as Trusts prepare for the evolving commissioning landscape .

You can read the full interview here

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Concerns Over Secondary Use of Patient Data

Debbie Williams

Blog, Friday 20th May 2011

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Further concerns have emerged this week regarding the use of patient data for secondary business use.

The Primary Health Care Specialist Group (PHCSG) has warned that failure to apply the proper governance may result in the use of patient data being blocked nationally.

At the Primary Health Info conference, Ewan Davis, who leads the work for the PHCSG, said that the Group has been investigating the use of secondary data following concerns from members about what PCTs are planning to do with it.

Davis highlighted the fact that the NHS needs to ensure that any information used is adequately anonymised by use of the best privacy enhancing technologies.

Ardentia’s Pseudonymisation solution has been designed to help Trusts use patient data safely, in accordance with Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice.

By enabling Trusts to generate pseudonyms to remove key identifiers that may associate a treatment pathway with a particular individual, patient confidentiality is upheld and privacy issues are resolved.

To find out more about Ardentia’s Pseudonymisation tool, click here.

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35% More Patients Waiting Over 6 Weeks For Diagnosis

Debbie Williams

Blog, Friday 20th May 2011

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New data released by the NHS states that waiting times for diagnostic tests have risen by 35%, in just one month.

MRI scans and heart sonograms are amongst the 15 tests included in the report, with almost 11,000 people waiting more than 6 weeks for these key diagnoses in March 2011.

According to the Mail Online, the topic has caused ‘heated rows’ between Labour Leader Ed Milliband and PM David Cameron, as figures have risen by 184% since the change in Government last year.

Ardentia’s Waiting Lists reporting solution helps monitor patient activity and notifies users of waiting times that will exceed local and national standards. Healthcare professionals can also analyse monthly trends and compare waiting times by operative procedure to provide effective waiting list management.

To find out more about Ardentia’s solutions, click here

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Industry View: Tom Mulhern

Debbie Williams

Blog, Friday 6th May 2011

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E-Health Insider’s latest Industry View is from Ardentia’s CEO Tom Mulhern.

Tom argues that emerging GP commissioning consortia need to use IT to plan and buy care at the right price, and discusses the importance of patient pathways.

He claims that the emergence of GP consortia, as the purchasers of most NHS treatment, should mean that quality of care is scrutinised more closely than ever before. However, Tom believes that this is not always a foregone conclusion.

Click here to read the full article.

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NHS Trusts Must Make Bigger Savings

Debbie Williams

Blog, Wednesday 4th May 2011

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Foundation trusts regulator Monitor has warned hospitals that they will need to make up to 75 per cent greater efficiency savings than originally planned due to higher inflation and tougher financial penalties incurred for incidents such as emergency re-admissions following surgery.

NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson had previously told hospitals that they needed to find 4 per cent savings each year for the next five years in order to maintain services, taking into account the rising costs of medical treatments, increased demand and the smaller rises in NHS budget.

Monitor has now told foundation trust applicants that they must find savings in the region of 6-7 per cent in order to achieve foundation trust status by 2014. The Department of Health said Monitor’s assessments are challenging but “wants all hospitals to be able to meet Monitor’s standards and show that they can provide sustainable, high quality and efficient services for their patients.”

In order to achieve these savings, clinicians and managers need to have a solution in place that enables them to track and remove inefficiencies and areas of waste.

Ardentia’s Activity Flow Analytics (AFA) allows finance managers to access information on data such as outpatient attendance, trends, patient location and treatment requirements. With this information readily available, Trusts are in a better position to find ways of saving money efficiently; ensuring resources are being used effectively whilst delivering high standards of care.

You can read the full article on Healthcare Today here

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Trusts Uncertain as NHS Reform Delayed

Debbie Williams

Blog, Monday 2nd May 2011

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An article in The Guardian has reported on David Cameron’s recent decision to pause the coalition’s NHS reform bill for up to two months.

According to sources, Cameron has decided to turn to NHS Chief Executive Sir David Nicholson for advice on the reform in place of health secretary Andrew Lansley, as the Liberal Democrats put more pressure on him to change the planned reform.

The retreat has triggered concern throughout the NHS, with managers left to wonder whether the reform is in jeopardy. As the NHS begins the disbanding of PCTs, managers are considering the impact the delay will have considering the current staff cuts and financial constraints.

NHS Confederation acting chief executive, Nigel Edwards said: “On Friday the NHS let go 1,500 managers, and a significant number of primary care trust managers have been left go in the last few weeks. We may need to rehire some of these people and this is astonishing.”

As the NHS deals with controversy during these uncertain times, there is an increasing need for robust, accurate and high quality data in order for Trusts to survive the constant flux of the NHS.

Business intelligence solutions provide managers with the necessary tools to collect extensive data, enabling them to sustain rigorous financial control and efficient business management.

To find out more, talk to Ardentia.

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Trusts Miss Pseudonymisation Target

Debbie Williams

Blog, Friday 29th April 2011

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An article on E-Health Insider reports that fewer than half of NHS Trusts have succeeded in pseudonymising patient records under the Department of Health’s Pseudonymisation Implementation Project (PIP).

The government had set targets for all NHS Trusts to improve patient data security by the end of March 2011, but only 186 out of 396 acute, mental health, ambulance and primary care trusts have reported successful pseudonymisation under the scheme.

Ardentia’s Pseudonymisation solution provides the software that automatically pseudonymises patient data, complying with all confidentiality requirements as stated by the NHS Code of Practice.

The solution generates pseudonyms to remove key identifiers that may associate a treatment pathway with a particular individual. Pseudonymised data can then be used legally for secondary business use including research, teaching, auditing, and management activities, without compromising patient confidentiality.

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Will NHS Reforms Affect Patient Care?

Debbie Williams

Blog, Thursday 28th April 2011

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The BBC has reported about how a group of influential MPs have questioned the planned shake-up of the NHS, warning that it could compromise patient care.

The Public Accounts Committee has said that implementing significant changes while seeking £20bn in efficiency savings may damage front-line services.

Committee chairman Margaret Hodge said: “The Department of Health acknowledged the risks associated with this radical shake-up of the NHS.

“Whilst the reforms could complement the imperative of achieving £20bn efficiency gains by 2014/15, the reorganisation might also distract those responsible for making the savings while safeguarding standards of patient care.”

Ardentia’s solutions are developed with patient care in mind, providing NHS managers with the tools needed to identify where improvements can be made to enhance care delivery and improve patient experience.

To find out more about our solutions click here.

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Hospital Waiting Times Still Major Concern

Debbie Williams

Blog, Wednesday 27th April 2011

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An article in the Daily Mail has reported on the growing concern for hospital waiting times, which have hit their highest levels in three years.

According to a report by The King’s Fund, 15 percent of hospital in-patients waited over 18 weeks for treatment in February this year. This could be due in part to the financial pressures on the NHS, as it strives to meet government targets and save £20billion in productivity improvements by 2015.

Chief economist John Appleby said: “With hospital waiting times rising, the NHS faces a considerable challenge in maintaining performance as the financial squeeze begins to bite.”

David Flory, deputy chief executive of the NHS added: “Despite continued good performance, the NHS is still facing pressure from growing demand. This particular snapshot shows that the NHS must maintain its focus on waiting times and improving patient outcomes.”

IArdentia’s Pathway Manager for RTT allows Trusts to effectively manage referral to treatment times by highlighting patients who are likely to breach locally defined targets.

It can be supported by Service Line Reporting, which enables clinicians and managers to evaluate Trust performance, revealing areas in most need of attention including departments that may need more resources to ensure continuity of care.

You can read the Daily Mail article here

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