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Showing results for tags 'Innovation'.
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Content ArticleIn the UK, over 26% of adults take prescription medications and in the US the figure is around 66%. But up to 50% of patients fail to take their medications as prescribed. As healthcare steadily pivots towards digital health, Dr. Bertalan Meskó and Dr. Pranavsingh Dhunno ask how new technologies can improve medication management. In this article for The Medical Futurist, they look at the importance of empowering patients to reduce the risk of medication errors. They highlight five medication management technologies that could help patients improve their own medication safety: Smart pill dispensers which deliver audible and visual cues to remind patients to take medications at the right time Medication reminder apps which help manage medication regimens and can sync the data with a caregiver or doctor Digital therapeutics which support patients to make treatment decisions Digital pills which integrate tracking technology into pills themselves Telemedical platforms that allow patients to request advice or raise concerns with their doctors.
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Content Article
This year, the World Health Organisation’s annual World Patient Safety Day on 17 September 2022 will focus on medication safety, promoting safe medication practices to prevent medication errors and reducing medication-related harm. Patient Safety Learning has pulled together some useful resources from the hub about different aspects of medication safety. Here we list seven tools and articles related to patient engagement and medication safety, including an interview with a patient advocate campaigning for transparency in medicines regulation, a blog outlining family concerns around prescribing and consent, and a number of projects that aim to enhance patient involvement in using medications safely. -
Content ArticleIssues with medication management and errors in medication administration are major threats to patient safety. This article for the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Patient Safety Network takes a look at the AHRQ's current areas of focus for medication safety. The authors look at evidence-based solutions to improve medication safety in three areas: High-risk medication use and polypharmacy in older adults Reducing opioid overprescribing, increasing naloxone access and use and other interventions for opioid medication safety Nursing-sensitive medication safety The article also explores future research directions in medication safety and highlights that these will advance patient safety overall.
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Content ArticleHealthcare service innovations are considered to play a pivotal role in improving organisational efficiency and responding effectively to healthcare needs. However, healthcare organisations often encounter difficulties in sustaining and sharing innovations. This qualitative study aimed to explore how healthcare innovators of process-based initiatives see and understand factors that either facilitated or obstructed the implementation of innovation. The authors found that even though the innovations studied were very varied, innovators often highlighted the significant role of the evidential base of success, the inter-personal and inter-organisational networks, and the inner and outer context.
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News Article
Self-sterilising plastic kills viruses like Covid
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Scientists have developed a virus-killing plastic that could make it harder for bugs, including Covid, to spread in hospitals and care homes. The team at Queen's University Belfast say their plastic film is cheap and could be fashioned into protective gear such as aprons. It works by reacting with light to release chemicals that break the virus. The study showed it could kill viruses by the million, even in tough species which linger on clothes and surfaces. The research was accelerated as part of the UK's response to the Covid pandemic. Studies had shown the Covid virus was able to survive for up to 72 hours on some surfaces, but that is nothing compared to sturdier species. Norovirus - known as the winter vomiting bug - can survive outside the body for two weeks while waiting for somebody new to infect. "This is the first time that anything like this has been developed," said Prof Andrew Mills, from the university's chemistry department. He added: "This film could replace many of the disposable plastic films used in the healthcare industry as it has the added value of being self-sterilising at no real extra cost." He said current personal protective equipment used in hospitals did a good job, but "infections can take place when you take off or put on the PPE, so this can help". Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 September 2022 -
News Article
New hospital showcases 'different way of working'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
When the new Royal Liverpool Hospital opens its doors in October, every patient will have a single room with an en-suite bathroom. That set-up is unusual for acute hospitals in England, but many feel it is the future for all new buildings. "There's the privacy and dignity from the patient's point of view," says Jacqui Stamper, the hospital's associate chief nurse. "If they're in the room and talking to the doctors or the nurses, there isn't somebody just the other side of a curtain listening." "And then there's the infection prevention side of it as well. "It's absolutely the state of the art way of hospital care really." The new system will require staff to work differently, so patients can be properly monitored. Each ward has been broken up into smaller zones of between six and eight beds, and each zone has its own base where the nurses will sit. The trust which runs the hospital is currently running workshops to get staff used to the layout. "Nursing staff will be used to working in a bigger team than a couple of people, so it is a different way of working," Ms Stamper says. "We're listening to our staff and their concerns and answering those to see how we can address them going forward." Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 September 2022 -
Content ArticleMaking the Patient Tracking List (PTL) available to general practice in North Central London (NCL) is proving to be an effective approach. When thinking about how best to address the backlog of patients, it’s natural to only consider the locations where the patients will be treated, but Amy Bowen, director of system improvement for NCL, says her team saw the value of involving primary care in the conversation. “Initially, everyone considered the PTL from secondary care, but we thought ‘let’s flip it on its head’,” she says. The approach uses funding from the NHS’s elective accelerator sites initiative to form multi-disciplinary Proactive Integrated Teams (PITs) that can access the PTL using the elective recovery dashboard in the Cerner population health platform, HealtheIntent®. Find out more in this article in the Integrated Care Journal.
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Content ArticleBabylon is a US company that offers AI-powered online apps to health systems. Several UK hospital trusts have used Babylon apps to triage patients and reduce attendances at accident and emergency departments since 2018. In this blog, Nicole Kobie, contributing editor at technology website Wired, looks at Babylon's recent cancellation of its last contract with an NHS trust. She highlights that although some welcome Babylon's exit from the NHS, the disruption caused by the apps' implementation was costly and has left some trusts with large bills. The apps also triggered complaints from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after concerns that Babylon's AI was missing signs of serious illness. The article highlights the need to carefully consider patient safety and cost-effectiveness when introducing new technologies into health systems, and take a slower approach to rolling out AI innovations.
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News Article
AHSN Network Innovate Awards 2022 finalists announced
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
The finalists for The Innovate Awards 2022 have been revealed following a rigorous round of judging over the summer, and Patient Safety Learning is a finalist in the 'Enabling Safer Systems of Care Through Innovation' category. In its inaugural year, The Innovate Awards saw a grand total of 194 entries from health and care teams across the country covering ten award categories. The ten eventual winners will also compete for ‘Innovation Champion of the Year’ to be announced on the evening of the award ceremony in September. Commenting on the awards, Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, NHS Confederation from NHS Confederation said: “Judges across all the award categories have remarked on how impressive and inspiring the work contained in these submissions has been. It has been a delight to see the wonderful efforts taking place in terms of innovation in the health and care sector and it is hugely important to recognise and celebrate this.” Read full story Source: AHSN Network (30 August 2022) -
News Article
NHS trialling 'smart goggles' so nurses can see more patients
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS nurses will wear “smart goggles" as part of efforts to see more patients under a £400,000 pilot scheme. Health chiefs said the virtual reality headsets would mean details of a consultation could be directly transcribed, reducing the amount of time spent filling in patients’ notes. The technology will also allow live footage to be streamed to hospital specialists for second opinions, so patients do not have to have extra appointments in hospitals. The intention is to give nurses more time for clinical duties such as checking blood pressure, dressing wounds and assessing a patient’s health needs. Dr Tim Ferris, NHS director for transformation, said: “These new smart glasses are the latest pioneering tech and really show us what the future of the NHS could look like. “They are a win-win for staff and patients alike, freeing up time-consuming admin for nurses, meaning more time for patient care.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 20 August 2022 -
Content ArticleThis report by the consultancy firm Deloitte looks at patient safety across biopharmaceutical (biopharma) value chains, arguing that change is needed to make medications safer for patients and add value to pharmaceutical products. The authors highlight that there is currently great potential for strategies to increase safety, improve equity and enhance patient engagement and experience. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and data analytics, combined with increased incidence of adverse event reports (AERs) and increasing expectation of more personalised, preventative, predictive and participatory (4P) medicine, present an opportunity to improve pharmacovigilance.
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Content ArticleClinicians at Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation Trust in London are preparing to publish the results of 15 one-day HIT lists between February 2021 and August 2022, involving 300 patients across eight different specialties, in which they claim they have been able to carry out four times as many operations as they would normally expect to complete in a month using conventional lists.
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Content ArticleThis report by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges looks at the possibilities for establishing a system of staggered changeover start dates for trainee doctors. Evidence suggests that there is an increase in patient morbidity and mortality at the beginning of August each year, which corresponds with the time when trainee doctors rotate positions. The paper, produced by the Academy’s Staggered Trainee Changeover Working Group (STCWG), recommends that the most effective solution for safe trainee changeover is a roll forward model of staggering, where the more senior trainees rotate one month later. A survey of Foundation doctors demonstrated support for a system where all Specialty Training programmes start at the beginning of September, one month after the end of the Foundation Programme.
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Content ArticleVideo and telephone consultations have, through the course of the pandemic, become a central of daily operations across the NHS. In this blog, Ben Gadd and Amanda Nash of University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust share their experiences about how they are being received and the potential lessons we can learn.
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News Article
NHS to use AI to identify people at higher risk of hepatitis C
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The NHS is to use artificial intelligence to detect, screen and treat people at risk of hepatitis C under plans to eradicate the disease by 2030. Hepatitis C often does not have any noticeable symptoms until the liver has been severely damaged, which means thousands of people are living with the infection – known as the silent killer – without realising it. Left untreated, it can cause life-threatening damage to the liver over years. But with modern treatments now available, it is possible to cure the infection. Now health chiefs are launching a hi-tech screening programme in England in a fresh drive to identify thousands of people unaware they have the virus. The scheme, due to begin in the next few weeks, aims to help people living with hepatitis C get a life-saving diagnosis and access to treatment before it is too late. The NHS will identify people who may have the virus by using AI to scan health records for a number of key risk factors, such as historical blood transfusions or an HIV diagnosis. Anyone identified through the new screening process will be invited for a review by their GP and, if appropriate, further screening for hepatitis C. Those who test positive for the virus will be offered treatment available after NHS England struck a deal with three major pharmaceutical companies. Prof Graham Foster, national clinical chair for NHS England’s hepatitis C elimination programmes, said the scheme “marks a significant step forward” in the fight to eliminate the virus before 2030. It will “use new software to identify and test patients most at risk from the virus – potentially saving thousands of lives”, he added. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 31 July 2022 -
News Article
Stick-on ultrasound patch hailed as revolution in medical imaging
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A stick-on patch that can take an ultrasound scan of a person’s insides as they go about their daily life has been hailed as a revolution in medical imaging. The wearable patch, which is the size of a postage stamp, can image blood vessels, the digestive system and internal organs for up to 48 hours, giving doctors a more detailed picture of a patient’s health than the snapshots provided by routine scans. In laboratory tests, researchers used the patches to watch people’s hearts change shape during exercise, their stomachs expand and shrink as they drank and passed drinks, and their muscles pick up microdamage when weightlifting. Prof Xuanhe Zhao at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who led the research team, said the patches could “revolutionise” medical imaging because existing scans are very brief, sometimes lasting only seconds, and usually have to be performed in hospitals. Ultrasound scans are extremely common, with NHS England performing more than 8m last year. But the technique has major limitations, requiring highly trained sonographers to place and orient the probes on patients’ bodies to get high-quality images. For this reason, most ultrasound scans are brief and performed on patients who are required to keep still while the images are taken. Wireless patches could sidestep some of these problems, as they can be fixed in position and left to take images for hours, and even days, at a time, the researchers say. Beyond scanning organs for early signs of disease, the “set and forget” patches could monitor bladder function, tumours, and the development of foetuses in the womb. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 28 July 2022 -
Content Article
The Patient Revolution: How we revolt guide (June 2022)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Culture
This guide from The Patient Revolution aims to help healthcare activists contribute to an international movement for care. It summarises the foundations of The Patient Revolution's collective work towards the goal of careful and kind care for all. Underpinning these foundations is the idea that industrialised healthcare undermines compassionate, individualised care and costs more, both in terms of patient safety and financial cost. The guide provides tools and principles to help activists transform the way care is offered and promote genuine patient-healthcare collaboration. -
News Article
World first in hologram patients
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Medical students are using hologram patients to hone their skills with life-like training scenarios. The project at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge is the first in the world to use the mixed reality technology in this way. Students wear Microsoft HoloLens headsets that let them interact with the patient while still being able to see each other. Lecturers are able to alter the patient’s response, make observations and add complications to the scenario. It enables realistic and immersive safe-to-fail training which can be delivered remotely as well as in person. The first module, covering respiratory conditions and emergencies, has already been launched and more are planned around cardiology and neurology. The HoloScenarios system is being developed by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with the University of Cambridge and US-based tech firm GigXR. Consultant anaesthetist Dr Arun Gupta, who is leading the project in Cambridge, said: “Mixed reality is increasingly recognised as a useful method of simulator training. As institutions scale procurement, the demand for platforms that offer utility and ease of mixed reality learning management is rapidly expanding" Read full story Source: CIEHF, 21 July 2022 -
Content ArticleThis annual report sets out how NHS Resolution's dispute resolution strategy has continued to drive down litigation against the NHS in England in 2021-22. 77% of claims made by patients were resolved in 2021/22 without court proceedings, continuing the year-on-year reduction for the last five years, and in line with the organisation's strategy to keep patients and healthcare staff out of court. NHS Resolution achieved this reduction through a range of dispute resolution approaches and continued cooperation across the legal market. It emphasises that the reduction in litigation has not been at the expense of a rigorous approach to investigation.
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News ArticleA pilot scheme to reduce infections following catheter insertions has shown a 100% fall within a hospital trust. NHS Supply Chain is now encouraging acute trusts in England to take advantage of the scheme which has shown to not only reduce infection rates but shorten patient length of stay and save clinicians’ time. Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are not uncommon and can cause patients significant pain, discomfort, confusion and anxiety for family and friends. They further impact healthcare with increased antibiotic use, prolonged hospital stays, increased clinical activity and risk of complaints and litigation. University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust had audited its urethral catheterisation practice, and the way catheterised patients w19 July ere cared for in clinical areas. The audit highlighted a wide variation in care delivery leading to inconsistent outcomes for patients and staff. After reviewing the available options, the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust decided to pilot the BARD® Tray which contains all the essential items to catheterise or re-catheterise a patient in one pack and includes the catheter with a pre-connected urine drainage bag. This unique ‘closed system’ prevents ingress of bacteria and helps avoid catheter related infection. NHS Supply Chain: Rehabilitation, Disabled Services, Women’s Health and Associated Consumables worked alongside supplier Beckton Dickinson to provide the tray products required by the trust. During the three-month pilot, catheter related infection rates fell by 100% at the trust which coincided with a reduction in complaints and a reduced length of hospital stay for patients. Clinicians reported that the pack was intuitive and saved around five minutes per catheterisation, which during the pilot process meant saving 83 hours from 1,000 catheterisation procedures. While the BARD® Tray was more expensive than the individual components that were currently purchased, the pilot study demonstrated the clinical and financial value that was delivered by the tray being implemented across an organisation. The overall cost of components is slightly cheaper, but due to reduced catheterisations, consumables spend fell by 24%. Read full story Source: NHS Supply Chain, 19 July 2022
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Content ArticleThe Covid-19 pandemic presented the need for fast decision-making in a rapidly shifting global context. This article in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine looks at the limitations of traditional evidence-based medicine (EBM) approaches when investigating questions in the context of complex, shifting environments. The authors argue that it is time to take a more varied approach to defining what counts as ‘high-quality’ evidence. They introduce some conceptual tools and quality frameworks from various fields involving what is known as mechanistic research, including complexity science, engineering and the social sciences. The article proposes that the tools and frameworks of mechanistic evidence, sometimes known as ‘EBM+’ when combined with traditional EBM, may help develop the interdisciplinary evidence base needed to take us out of this protracted pandemic.
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Content ArticleIn this McKinsey & Co blog, the authors examine how organisations can achieve cohesion among decentralised business units and transform their culture. Drawing on McKinsey's experience supporting organisations through change, they look at how setting a common cultural goal and minimum standards for how each business unit will achieve this goal, can result in lasting performance improvements. They examine the following facets of cultural change: How you’re changing: Organizational oversight What you’re changing: Mindsets and behaviours Who is responsible at the business unit level?
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Content ArticleThis report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change looks at how the NHS needs to adapt to meet the demands of the current population. It asks the questions, should we and could we go much further in fundamentally changing the design of how the NHS is run, highlighting two key societal changes that make change necessary: increases in our knowledge of how to stay healthy, and huge technological advances such as artificial intelligence.
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Content ArticleCancer screening involves testing for early signs of cancer in people without symptoms. It can help spot cancers at an early stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful, or in some cases prevent cancer from developing the first place. The screening test for bowel cancer is the faecal immunochemical test, or FIT, that looks for tiny traces of blood in your poo. These tests are sent to everyone in the eligible population every two years. In this blog Jacob Smith from Cancer Research UK looks at the importance of increasing bowel cancer screening in socioeconomically deprived communities, where there is a higher incidence of bowel cancer and death from bowel cancer. This is partly due to lower levels of participation in screening. The blog highlights the results of a recent study carried out by the University of Sheffield to determine which interventions may be successful in reducing health inequalities related to bowel cancer screening. Modelling found that re-inviting non-participants to take part in screening each year was a highly effective intervention, and it is estimated that this approach would prevent over 11,000 bowel cancer deaths over the lifetime of the current English population aged 50-74.
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Content ArticleThis guide developed by the AHSN Network, the University of Plymouth and the pharma company Boehringer Ingelheim sets out four key principles to involve and engage patients and the public in digital health innovation: Engage – map out your strategy and motivations, identify a representative cohort and develop inclusive engagement practices. Acknowledge, value & support – show you value patients’ and the public’s contribution to ongoing and transparent communication, any necessary training and potential financial reimbursement. Communicate – tailored external communication and open feedback channels are crucial to maintaining engagement and accountability by all parties. Trust and transparency – In order to gain patients’ trust, organisations conducting PPIE should be trustworthy and transparent about potential risks.
