Is collaboration the key to meeting patient needs?

As health and care resources are stretched to the limit, how can GPs work together to put patients first – and what part can collaboration and evaluation play in this endeavour?  

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Digital Health

The government’s plan for digital health and social care calls for technology to ensure that people get the right treatment at the right time as part of the wider drive to more integrated, person-centred care. While digitised patient communication is already helping, Greg Martin, medical doctor, consultant in public health medicine, and founding director of Wellola, calls for greater emphasis to be placed on collaboration and evaluation.

As health and care resources are stretched to the limit, it is vital that the sickest of the sick are treated in the right place at the right time; this is a fundamental goal of the UK government’s plan for integrated care and technology is playing its part – for example, through digital patient communication, which is helping to keep people out of hospitals by simplifying care processes and encouraging self-care.

Virtual wards and ‘hospital at home’ services, for example, are helping to reduce the number of hospital visits by providing clinicians and patients with information that helps ensure patients receive the right care in the right place. Further to this, digitising the patient-initiated follow-up process has cut the number of unnecessary routine appointments by simply asking patients to let doctors know when their symptoms get worse.

Even when patients do need to visit a hospital, communications technology is being used for letters, appointments and consultations, giving patients greater control over their care, while also releasing time for clinical staff. With more than 15m people now living with long term conditions in the UK, and with life expectancy on the rise, efficiency gains will be critical for the health system as it struggles to deal with increased demand.

However, despite already realising many of benefits digital patient communication can bring, there is so much more we can do to achieve more efficient, person-centred care. In order to optimise our use of digital communication with patients, we need to make lasting improvements to how we collaborate and what we evaluate.

Working together will better meet patients’ needs

Collaboration between various stakeholders will expand on the efficiencies above and provide a more co-ordinated patient journey; for those of us involved with digital health, partnerships between citizens, services, systems and suppliers will deliver these results.

Technology is just a stepping stone to resolving a patient’s needs and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. We in the digital health and care community must give patients the ability to use multiple ways to access the care they require. Flexible, modular options can be used across each stage of the patient journey; these options should focus on accessibility in user design as a key priority.

We also have to be inclusive; six per cent of households have no access to the internet, for example. Technology can help release capacity for traditional access routes by directing people to digital channels and we can also continue to support people to use digital tools, empowering them to use technology to take meaningful control of their own health and care.

Partnering between services and within systems is also crucial. Currently, a patient being monitored at home for one condition may have to come to hospital for another; in order to address this contradiction services will have to co-ordinate care and communication around the needs of each individual, or risk confusing the patient. Working together is vital.

Health and care systems will need to make sure that patients have access to the most appropriate technology to help them manage their health and care. Existing software will need to seamlessly integrate with other systems to help join up the patient experience; this will require co-ordinated action between service providers and technology suppliers. Ensuring that patients get access to the right care at the right time can be better achieved by giving clinicians and hospitals the best tools for the job.

For example, patient communication tools can enhance electronic record systems by capturing and sharing patient information for use in multiple other systems. This can release time for hospital staff, support more multi-disciplinary working and help ensure people get to see the right healthcare professional.

Suppliers operate in a commercial world, of course, but the market is large enough for us to work together. Interoperability and standards provide the right framework for collaboration. If we do this well, we can offer potential purchasers fully-integrated systems that are easier to implement, easier to use and make a real difference to patient care.

Improving evaluation will show the impact of patient-centred care

Achieving a more person-centred, collaborative approach will depend on what we set as our goals. Current performance measures cover the impact of individual technologies; we have to go beyond reduction of paper, post and no-shows and link digital patient communication to show how it delivers more efficient care processes, reduces staff burnout and enhances clinical care. 

Linking such measures will be hugely powerful. It will enable us to look at how digital patient communications can make a difference to how a hospital is managed, how patients are monitored, and how staff feel about their jobs.

With this way forward, we can show how digital transformation can build care around the needs and preferences of the individual. Let’s work together to make this happen.