New software to cut unnecessary hospital stays
pharmafile | January 19, 2007 | News story | |Â Â Â
Clinicians are being urged to use new software developed to help the NHS prevent unnecessary admission to hospital.
Thousands of patients are frequently and repeatedly admitted to their local hospitals because of serious long-term conditions – patients who are sometimes known as 'frequent flyers'.
But if these patients can be identified and treated outside hospital before their condition worsens, it could help stabilise their condition and save the NHS money.
The new Combined Predictive Model uses accident and emergency, inpatient, outpatient and GP data sources to identify patients at risk of becoming frequent users of hospital services.
Geraint Lewis, specialist registrar at Croydon PCT, where the combined model was tested, said it has transformed the way it cares for people with complex medical and social needs.
"As the combined model uses routinely collected data from across the whole population, it means that this extra support can be offered to those people who will benefit the most. In this way, the combined model can also help to reduce health inequalities and bring care closer to people's homes."
NHS figures show that the health service is actually ahead of its target to cut emergency admissions 5% by 2008.
Health minister Rosie Winterton said: "I am very pleased that there has been a reduction in emergency bed days in 2005/06 of 5.4 per cent – some 1.7 million bed days – compared to the 2003/04 baseline year. This means that the national target of five per cent by 2008 has been met early.
"Though this is a significant achievement, continued efforts and reform are vital if we are to maintain these important improvements in patients' care and sustain the bed day reductions into the future."
The Combined Model is available from www.kingsfund.org.uk/health or www.networks.nhs.uk. PARR tools are free to download from the same websites.
