Insights from Healthcare Efficiency Through Technology Expo 2014

“Technology can transform, the NHS needs to seize this opportunity”

One of many calls for incisive action from Professor Sir Malcom Grant CBE, Chair, NHS England - “Commissioning for the Future Health Service” HETT 2014.

SilhouetteConnect - digital wound assessment at point of care

Here is a review from Entec Health on what was shared and debated at HETT 2014, Olympia London, 30 Sept 2014.

The keynote speakers and sponsored technology provider sessions provided compelling examples and experiences of transformation programmes designed to deliver healthcare efficiencies through technology:

• Electronic patient record systems, clinical management systems, electronic document management systems as foundation elements to support safe and efficient patient management
• Paperless; digital data at point of care for greater efficiency, releasing time for care
• Clinical applications to empower front line users with better clinical data and health informatics to support decision making, enabling better care and outcomes
• Mobile working with digital devices for agile work force, lower operational costs, better patient experience and sustainable care models
• Integration of data across care and social settings for better care and service experience and outcomes

Five Critical Success Factors for Technology-enabled Health Innovation

Here is a pick of five critical success factors that came through from several case studies presented, for successful and effective delivery of healthcare efficiencies and improved care, enabled by technology solutions:

1/ Ensure clinical leaders are involved from the start

• Clinical and service leaders need to be involved from the very start and take a lead in defining what they want to solve and in assessing the technology for purpose and ease of use.
• It should be about clinical and service innovation, not technology for technology’s sake.

2/ Speak a common language around what should improve for the patient and staff

• Clinicians and IT personnel often speak different languages and “med- speak” and “tech-speak” can sometimes lead to a jumbling of intent around a programme.
• In reality the common language needs to be around what do we want to improve?
• How is this better for the patient?
• How is it better for the health professional?
• What is the bigger picture impact for the patient pathway, service and organisation?
• What should we do together to implement and embed the technology adoption effectively?

3/ Create meaningful user engagement

• It is important to build in strong user engagement to ensure buy-in through-out the journey.
• Key elements for effective engagement include a strong communication plan and appropriate training plan.
• Recruit and support internal clinical champions who can help users to understand the value of the technology for staff and patients.

4/ Map out expected benefits and impact for a robust business case

• Mapping out the benefits of technologies and figuring out financial return on investment needs time and consideration from the outset.
• The team looking to adopt the technology to innovate in a given clinical area needs to build a robust business case, first to secure the investment and then, to support on-going review of what has been achieved.
• Sound and realistic assumptions around what will improve and by how much as a result of the technology is a great starting point for the business case.
• Clinicians are not necessarily motivated by cost savings as the project driver, clinical and patient benefits have to be tangible to trigger an appetite for change.

5/ Evaluate impact to support sustainable improvement

• Evaluation of technology impact is often neglected or missed due to other pressures.
• If evaluation of technology impact can be seen as a key deliverable to the project, the case for change becomes easier to sell-in and replicate across the organisation and across the NHS.
• Prioritisation of technology investment continues to be a challenge for the NHS, in the end, there is a finite pot of money available. The technology investment needs to show decent return in a reasonable timeframe to have any traction.

These five critical success factors will be top of mind as Entec Health collaborates with clients to deliver greater patient and organisational value through technology-enabled health innovation and service transformation. Congratulations to the HETT 2014 team for an excellent value-adding event for health professionals and Health IT providers.

Review our regular series of Entec Health email updates here to stay informed about the latest trends and opportunities for Health IT and technology enabled Health Innovation.

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EHI Healthcare IT Product Innovation Award for Entec Health & Silhouette

Wound Surveillance - the importance of accurate wound measurement and reliable healing trend data

EHI Healthcare IT Product Innovation accolade for Entec Health and Silhouette

Entec Health was delighted to be announced a winner at the EHI Awards 2014 for Healthcare IT Product Innovation at a prestigious ceremony held at the Roundhouse in London on Thursday 9 October.

Entec Health was selected from 6 deserving finalists as the winning entry for Product Innovation, based on the company's work in bringing an innovative digital wound assessment solution, Silhouette, to the UK market.

Entec Health and Kings College Hospital Diabetic Foot Clinic Team picking up their award at EHI Awards evening October 2014

Entec Health has introduced the electronic Silhouette wound assessment and information management system to health professionals in the UK to enable improved clinical practice through the use of the Silhouette solution which transforms wound assessment and documentation from a largely subjective, manual, paper-based process to an objective, automated, digital approach.

UK Clinicians who have experience of Silhouette comment on the advantages of this digital 3D technology system as helping them generate quality clinical information and health informatics for better treatment planning and optimisation of patient care and outcomes.
An important collaboration has been established between Entec Health and the pioneering Diabetic Foot Clinic Team at Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust where Silhouette has been deployed successfully for clinical research and now being implemented in clinical practice for effective management of patients with diabetic foot ulceration.
Entec Health is an appointed sales and marketing partner for the UK to Aranz Medical the developer and manufacturer of Silhouette.
e-health Insider, as UK's leading media and business intelligence platform in digital health technology, hosts the EHI awards annually to recognise success and innovation in Healthcare IT.