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improving patient care and reducing costs
Patients in need of urgent medical attention will be identified and treated more rapidly with the help of a new hand-held computer system being used by staff at one of Britain’s leading NHS trusts…
Often the sudden deterioration in a patient’s condition can be preventable if they are identified in time as being ‘at risk’. It is estimated that over 20,000 in-hospital cardiac arrests and similar numbers of unanticipated intensive care unit admissions may be avoidable annually in the UK with earlier recognition and better treatment.
Following a successful in-hospital trial running since March 2005, Portsmouth Hospital NHS Trust has confirmed a full implementation of VitalPAC™ across the Queen Alexandra site, its major acute hospital.
Based on its experience so far, The Learning Clinic estimates that the Trust could save several million pounds over the next few years thanks to VitalPAC™. Early results indicate that just one ward may save £1million per year by using the system. VitalPAC™ does not only identify the sickest patients, it also indicates which patients may be well enough to be discharged or whose condition suggests they do not need a hospital bed in the first place. By helping clinicians know which patients may be well enough to discharge, and which patients are deteriorating and need attention before their condition becomes more serious, VitalPAC™ both improves patient care, and saves precious hospital resources.
Data in operation
Under the system, which runs via the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, nurses enter key clinical data into hand-held computers at the bedside, rather than onto a traditional paper observation chart. VitalPAC™ immediately analyses these readings, along with data such as blood test results stored in other hospital databases, and identifies priority patients using an early warning score. An urgent alert is given if the early warning score reveals the patient to be in need of immediate medical attention. All readings on VitalPAC™ are automatically sent via a wireless LAN to a central server. This means that the data can be reviewed on the hospital intranet, tablet PCs, or on other PDAs by any clinician anywhere in the hospital.
Commenting, Professor Gary Smith, Consultant in Critical Care at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust and clinical lead for the VitalPAC project, said, “This is an exciting moment for Portsmouth. We believe the VitalPAC™ system to be a key tool in ensuring improved patient-focused care, enhanced patient safety and greater efficiency in the care of sick patients. ”
Roger Killen, Managing Director, The Learning Clinic, added, “The VitalPAC™ system is a huge step forward for the NHS in the care of patients and the management of resources. Not only will it help ensure the safety of the patient, but it also promotes their timely progress through the tests and investigations that help the clinical teams make accurate diagnosis and treatment. The sooner the patient is on the right treatment, the sooner they recover. That’s good for hospital efficiency and good for the patient.”
Extending the technology
This is just the first step in the development of VitalPAC™. The Learning Clinic and Microsoft are now working with Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust to extend the technology to meet the specific needs of hospital doctors.
Concluding, John Coulthard, Director of Healthcare for Microsoft said, “These are exciting times for technology in the health sector and VitalPAC is a fantastic example of smart technology delivering tangible benefits to NHS staff and patients. From the start, the requirements of clinical and nursing staff have been paramount and the result is a user-friendly system which has significantly improved the lives of frontline NHS staff and ultimately the patients they care for.”
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