Driving improvement through technology

Care Quality Commission | July 2019 | Driving improvement through technology

Within the publication Driving improvement through technology the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is sharing examples of innovation identified in the course of their work; to raise awareness and to encourage health and care services to improve.

CQC  have selected case studies which highlight innovations around:

• Automated triage technology– includes case studies on Monitoring for people with COPD, heart failure or type 2 diabetes; Monitoring for people with COPD, heart failure or type 2 diabetes and teledermatology
• Digital records- use of laptops in clients’ homes
• mHealth– Real time urgent and emergency care waiting times; use of laptops by Health care workers in clients’ homes
• Telecare- sensors in the home
• Telemedicine– home monitoring for patients with inflammatory bowel disease,
• Telemonitoring– urine testing at home

Full details from the CQC

Related:

CQC blog Driving improvement through technology

CQC press release Technology in care – we shine light on the importance of innovation in new resource

 

Creating the right framework to realise the benefits of health data

Department of Health and Social Care | July 2019 | Creating the right framework to realise the benefits of health data

This document provides an update on the development of government policy to:

• establish guiding principles and a framework to help the NHS realise benefits for patients and the public where the NHS shares data with researchers
• establish a National Centre of Expertise to provide specialist advice and guidance to the NHS on agreements for use of data

The aim of the principles is to ensure that the NHS, patients and the public gain fair benefit from agreements involving the sharing of health and care data.

These agreements are intended to inspire public trust, through maintaining the highest standards of transparency and ethical data handling.

Read the guidance online:

Creating the right framework to realise the benefits for patients and the NHS where data underpins innovation

 

Using pharmacists to help improve care for people with type 2 diabetes

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has published Using pharmacists to help improve care for people with type 2 diabetes.  This document is aimed at policy makers and education/service commissioners within the NHS in England and makes recommendations for how pharmacists can play an increasing role in the prevention, early detection, care and support of people with type 2 diabetes.

To improve care for people with type 2 diabetes, the RPS are calling for:

1. Pharmacists should work in collaboration with other healthcare professionals to play a greater role in prevention and detection services for type 2 Diabetes
2. Pharmacists should play an active role in optimising medicines, improving the health, wellbeing and safety of people with type 2 diabetes across the NHS
3. Pharmacists in specialist and generalist roles should be given access to the most up to date education and training to support people with multiple conditions
4. NHS organisations need to establish and embed the role of consultant pharmacists in diabetes across the NHS should ensure improved outcomes in the management of people with type 2 diabetes, promote collaborative practice, multidisciplinary team working, quality improvement and research.

Full detail at Royal Pharmaceutical Society

See also: Pharmacists must be integrated into diabetes care | RPS press release

Community medicines

NICE, in collaboration with partner organisations, has launched an initiative to encourage better medicines support for people who are receiving social care services in their homes. 

Involved & informed: good community medicines support aims to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines in the community, so people get the best possible outcomes with a reduced risk of medicine related harm.  The campaign encourages health commissioners and local authorities to have a written agreement that sets out clear responsibilities for home-based medicines support.

The campaign also urges home care providers to ensure their medicines policies are robust and based on NICE guidance. The campaign focuses on NICE’s guideline and quality standard on managing medicines in the community, and comprises of action-orientated stand-alone messages, that speak to specific key audiences.

These key audiences are: local authority and clinical commissioning group (CCG) commissioners; social workers and other adult Care Act assessors; home care providers; people accessing medicines support (and their families and carers); Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors; GPs; pharmacists; and NHS Acute Trusts.

Full detail: Involved & informed: good community medicines support

NHS health information available through Amazon’s Alexa

The NHS is collaborating with Amazon to provide reliable health information from the NHS website through voice-assisted technology | Department of Health and Social Care

Voice-assisted technology will help patients, especially the elderly, blind and those who cannot access the internet through traditional means, to get professional, NHS-verified health information in seconds, through simple voice commands.

Amazon’s algorithm uses information from the NHS website to provide answers to voice questions such as:

• “Alexa, how do I treat a migraine?”
• “Alexa, what are the symptoms of flu?”
• “Alexa, what are the symptoms of chickenpox”

The technology has the potential to reduce the pressure on the NHS and GPs by providing information for common illnesses.

Voice search has been increasing rapidly. By 2020, half of all searches are expected to be made through voice-assisted technology.

NHSX will look at ways of making more NHS services available to all patients through digital technology. The announcement supports the commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan to make more NHS services available digitially.

Full story at Department of Health and Social Care