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Regional Innovation Fund 2010/11 Project: PC 10003

Electronic Requesting of Pathology & Radiology Tests from Primary Care in North Nottinghamshire

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

 

The project will enable the roll out of a paperless, electronic requesting system to General Practices in North Nottinghamshire to facilitate electronic requests for pathology and radiology requests to Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.       
 
In order to realise the benefits of the technological and organisational advances, dedicated specialist printers are needed to print off the barcode labels. The use of barcodes is one of the key drivers to the success of the product. If clinicians can be persuaded to enter data in real time via their personal computer, (PC) a whole range of benefits accrues to the project. Dedicated bar code label printers need to be sited within the GP surgeries, as without these, efficiencies will be diminished both within General Practice and the Acute Sector 

 

This project will enable North Nottinghamshire GP’s to make electronic requests for diagnostic radiology and pathology tests to Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust.
A pilot which tested out the interoperability of the requesting system with each of the four main GP software suppliers showed that electronic requesting for plain film X-Rays and a limited range of pathology tests was sucessful.
The software suppliers have noted the innovative way that the pilots sites have been implemented, capitalising on a paperless approach and have already asked the pilot project team to present their approach to a national user group. The use of barcodes is one of the key drivers to the success of the project, with clinicians entering data in real time via their PCs.
The results of the four pilot sites has been encouraging and are an overwhelming endorsement of electronic requesting.  The project will deliver a number of benefits/outcomes to the health community covering Clinical, Patient Safety and Efficiency benefits.

 

  • Handwritten requests are eliminated, thus increased  legibility of  request cards cuts down the number of queries from the pathology laborotories and speeds up the whole diagnostic process.
  • Visibility of previous results improves the interface between primary and secondary care and ensures that duplicate tests are not undertaken.
  • The patient is bled less often and there is an improvement in patient safety as a consequence.
  • Access is restricted electronically to staff who have permission to request, improving the quality of patient care. 
  • Improvement in the continuity of care as test results are directed to the requester, not the lead GP.

   

  • Practice staff will no longer be writing and checking request cards.
  • Reduction in potential for repetitive strain injury
  • Opportunity for staff to be released to do more interesting and less repetitive tasks
  • More professional approach presented with less “paper shuffling”, typing copying and filing of records
  • Opportunity to adopt paper light practices
  • An improved & more transparent audit trail
  • Clinical and administrative staff do not have to keep clicking in and out of different applications. Everything is contained within one system therefore enabling better use of time.

 

A number of “quantifiable” efficiencies have been identified to date with the pilot sites. These have been mainly in the form of clerical, secretarial and administrative time released.
One of the practices estimated that there was a three minute practice saving for each test result. Based on a medium-sized practice sending 1,300 test requests per month, that would release 16 hours of clerical time a week at £8.00 an hour (Band 2 with on-costs. This equates to £128 per week and a £6,656 saving per annum, per practice to enable staff to  undertake more urgent clinical and patient tasks.
These savings are cash releasing as such, they represent activities spread across different job roles.
Practices have reported that there is a reduction in duplicate testing.
There is also some reduction in the use of paper request cards and associated stationery and spoiled /returned pathology samples
PC 10003 Photo 1
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Contact the Innovator

Phil Robinson, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust -

Phil.Robinson@notts-his.nhs.uk

 

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Documents to Download 

East Midlands EXPO Poster

Press Release

See the project featured in the East Midlands Regional Innovation Fund Projects Brochure on Page 47