Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS expects to reach the government’s 18 week referral-to-treatment target six months early partly thanks to use of software to track patient pathways.
The trust has already met the national March targets of 90% for non-admitted patients and 85% for admitted patients to be treated within a maximum of 18 weeks after initial referral, and is confident the 100% target will be hit by the end of June. The national deadline for all trusts to fully achieve the 18-week target is December.
To help achieve the targets the trust has installed Ardentia’s Pathway Manager software, incorporating a dedicated 18 week RTT module. The system provides staff with a prospective view of waiting times rather than a retrospective view.
The RTT module has been developed with support from Microsoft, and simplifies and streamlines the management of patient pathways, identifying key event stages and calculating waiting times.
Staff can save all the information they need on a patient’s pathway of care in one data system, making it easier to report on waiting times and risks of breaches to the 18-week RTT target.
John Uttley, deputy director of information at Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Pathway Manager puts us in a very strong competitive position to demonstrate that we can deliver a sub 18-week wait. As we have already begun to meet and exceed these targets, we hope to be named as early achievers and gain recognition for the hard work we have put into meeting December RTT requirements ahead of time.”
If a patient begins to head towards the 18-week time limit, the software automatically advises staff there could be a potential problem arising. This gives sufficient warning to allow consultants to resolve the issue before the target is breached, ensuring patients get prompt care.
Ardentia’s marketing director, David Beeson, told E-Health Insider: “Pathway analyser has helped to link all the data collated in Dudley and provide reports on each section to give a reliable view of what is going on in the trust.”
Beeson added: “By setting milestones, the trust is able to compare progress to what they are expecting, and have been able to work on areas where a breach may occur to ensure that they remain in position to reach the government’s 18-week target.”
Tom Mulhern, chief executive at Ardentia, added: “Pathway Manager is also important because it enables the staff at Dudley to proactively manage and monitor the patient’s journey through the trust.”
Dudley is continuing to work closely with Ardentia on the next stage of development, which will support immediate access to reports that include daily up-to-date information and flag up any difficulties with patients not meeting 18-week regulations.
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