Andrew Kirby on how information can improve healthcare

Andrew Kirby

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In his draft Queen's Speech, prime minister Gordon Brown outlined a further round of performance targets for the NHS.

The government's proposal is that payments to NHS hospitals should be adjusted according to patient satisfaction and health outcomes, rather than patient volumes. I believe this is a challenge that can be met by using information more intelligently.

Microsoft recently spent some time examining how information is presented and shared with NHS decision makers. We mapped hospital-acquired infections to a physical plan of a hospital rather than to the calendar. 

This new three-dimensional approach to looking at data showed two wards that were a focus of hospital-acquired infections. Although the numbers were very small, there was a clear pattern. Having found the pattern, the hospital was able to respond more effectively and undertake a deep clean of the areas.

At the same time, we undertook analysis that focused on the previous five years of accident and emergency admissions and used data mining and forecasting tools to predict admissions for the next 12 months. The results have given the hospital hard figures to match the anecdotal evidence.

Essential resource

We all understand the power of information. In the NHS, information is the cornerstone of safe and effective care for the 2.5 million patients treated each week in our hospitals.

Almost every NHS policy imperative, from practice-based commissioning, to payment by results and patient choice, depends on the quality and availability of information. And with the majority of NHS employees handling vital patient and hospital information every working day, it is essential that this data is being captured, stored and shared to better patient outcomes.

Technology can help us to understand and interpret huge volumes of complex information, informing clinicians' choices for patient care and managers' decisions on everything from rostering to supplies and maintenance.

The development of the Common User Interface has been another major focus of our work over the past four years. It improves patient safety by ensuring the user interface used by clinicians and nurses is consistent, irrespective of which supplier's system they are using.

Safety principles

There are currently four guiding patient safety principles that determine where the Common User Interface programme focuses its efforts:

• the correct identification of a patient and the matching of a patient to their care elements;

• prevention of patient care handover errors and safety during transition of care;

• assuring medication accuracy;

• performance of correct procedure at correct body site.

To address these principles, the programme is developing guidelines and supporting technology for the following areas of clinical functionality: medications management, clinical noting and assessment, handover of care and responsibility, and consistent navigation and patient identification.

We are looking at all areas of potential risk - for example, when a doctor scribbles an indecipherable note on a prescription - and thinking about how these scenarios can be avoided.

Mobilising information is the key to a better-performing NHS. With the correct information, clinicians and managers can react to patient and hospital needs and respond with the right care and the right solutions. The reward for patients is safe, fast and effective healthcare. The reward for the NHS is greater operating efficiency and, if the government's new proposals become reality, guaranteed funding.

For more information, visit www.mscui.net