NHS Forth Valley and NHS Highland health boards have both signed contracts with Scottish health tech start-up Infix, seeing them join NHS Lothian in deploying software to improve efficiencies in the operating room.
Infix: Schedule helps to improve the efficiency of surgical operating theatres and helps to tackle patient waiting list backlogs. According to an independent review by the University of Stirling, Infix: Schedule can improve efficiencies in the operating theatre by as much as 40%.
The company also has the cloud-based virtual portal, Infix: Preop, which helps to optimise the patient pathway. Both are to be deployed across the health boards.
For NHS Forth Valley it’s the latest in a number of digital innovations the health board has deployed to improve efficiencies. At the end of last year, it implemented the Morse EPR app to support its mobile community staff work more effectively and boost collaboration.
Andrew Murray, NHS Forth Valley’s medical director, said: “NHS Forth Valley has a strong track record in embracing the use of new technology to support the delivery of safe and effective care.
“This new system will help us to manage our operating theatre lists more effectively while ensuring that patients continue to be prioritised according to their clinical needs and length of wait.”
The software was integrated with NHS Lothian’s existing systems early this year, and has so far enabled the health board to complete an additional 570 operations in eye cases alone. This represents savings of an estimated £2 million and has significantly reduced waiting lists.
Calum Campbell, chief executive at NHS Lothian, said: “The support of the Infix scheduling system and the transparency within which it presents system improvement opportunities is excellent.”
New partnership
Infix has also announced a new partnership with InterSystems – a provider of next-gen solutions for enterprise digital transformations. The partnership will extend Infix’s integration capabilities and enable it to access global markets.
Chris Norton, managing director UK and Ireland at InterSystems, said: “Our integration capabilities will allow Infix’s customers to benefit from advanced interoperability within healthcare settings, and we look forward to seeing this relationship continue to grow in the future.”