by Gary Day, Group Director of Public Sector, Apogee Corporation
The NHS is likely to continue struggling with demand and resources well into the foreseeable future. Behind frontline care, it continues to rely on legacy office IT systems that make innovation extremely difficult while increasing cyber security risks, while obtaining information remains slow compared with the streamlined functionality of fully digital systems.
This is a block on efficiency that needs resolution. NHS organisations use documentation for a vast range of requirements covering everything from highly sensitive medical records and notes, to letters sent to patients, suppliers and the admin requirements of a workforce of 1.7 million.
After attempts to digitise NHS medical records, the focus is very much on the challenges of legacy IT and the introduction of flexible approaches that deliver more advanced document management. The future of care depends heavily on the ability to exchange information more rapidly and securely between the many different organisations that make up the NHS, including the 42 integrated care systems.
Paper processes are error-prone on legacy IT
One of the major barriers to higher efficiency is the continued use of paper communications which are prone to errors through poorly co-ordinated workflows. This, together with the reliance on outdated IT, has the potential to cause serious problems.
A freedom of information request by the BBC this year found IT system failures linked to the deaths of three patients. Approximately 200,000 medical letters were not sent by 21 trusts because of widespread computer problems and nearly half of the hospitals with electronic patient systems reported problems that could affect patients. In Nottingham, more than 400,000 letters were lost in hospitals’ computer systems.
Digitisation needs to proceed
The NHS is fully aware it must accelerate digitisation to raise performance and innovate. NHS England’s Transformation Directorate plans to “extend digital maturity” in trusts to reshape health provision rather than just enhancing existing services. The immediate aim is for “the majority of health and social care services to have digital foundations in place, including electronic patient records” by March 2025.
Digitisation of documentation is essential to provide improved care pathways for patients. Once they remove paper, organisations can redesign hundreds of workflows leading to a more cost-effective organisation and a more fulfilled workforce. They will see the benefits in less waste of time, medicines and materials.
Yet, meeting the demands of records management ISO standard 15489-1:2016 endorsed by NHS Transformation is very tough when NHS organisations continue to depend on legacy IT infrastructure.
Transforming patient data flows
Countless examples from large businesses show how the data flowing around legacy applications in the NHS can be more efficiently managed, even in relation to the electronic patient record (EPR) system.
Since print is still required for backups and legal reasons, new workflows must unify digital and print-related processes. This should eliminate errors in patient communications, while the data provides a foundation for the integration of scan workflow solutions, using intelligent document routing and automation to reduce manual processes.
Sustainability and cyber resilience are critical
Any change must, however, help the NHS achieve its target of becoming the world’s first carbon net zero national health system by 2045, meaning sustainable business practices in managed service providers and suppliers are essential.
Security credentials are also non-negotiable, with the NHS under constant attack from ransomware criminals targeting data. Managed IT services providers need the full range of demanding ISO standards and data security qualifications to reduce the chances of a supply chain attack.
A managed service approach to these cyber security challenges means bringing access privileges and human interactions under 24/7 supervision. Advanced solutions should constantly monitor network end-points for unauthorised access or activity.
The managed services-led evolution
Managed services from a suitably experienced and qualified provider can move beyond today’s complex print requirements to cover business processes and IT. Intelligent process automation software is compatible with many HR and ERP platforms, for example.
Rather than replacing existing systems, process automation complements them, filling in any gaps in functionality. Automated indexing transforms document-tracking and retrieval, for example. Data capture from all workstreams facilitates access, insight and preparation.
This will transform costly and time-consuming medical archiving – a process that requires high levels of data-integrity, security and accessibility. Trusts can automate all these processes without loss of oversight and without undermining security.
This establishes firm foundations for further digitisation and the implementation of solutions designed to boost collaboration, increase data protection and make it easier to introduce sustainable work practices. Staff will also have more time to focus on higher value tasks that improve the patient pathway.
Change-management
Companies already collaborating with the NHS are best-placed to provide these significant benefits in efficiency and security. From their experience in the commercial sector, they know the importance of change-management in large-scale remodelling of data-exchange processes.
Frontline staff need reassurance that change will be positive and that the managed services company they have partnered with will still be around to provide full support once implementation has gone live.
The NHS can make a big advance towards digital transformation if it takes some well-defined steps that improve handling of critical patient and administrative data. By implementing achievable change now, it will achieve greater efficiency.
Automation and streamlined data-exchange between new applications and legacy solutions will quickly give administrators and clinicians more time to deliver superior, patient-centred healthcare using advances in medical technology.
By taking a new managed services approach to documentation and its associated IT, the NHS would be well equipped to boost efficiency as the revered organisation prepares for a more tech-driven future.
