NHS organisations generate a vast volume of documentation, much of which is still on paper. The range of documentation covers everything from highly sensitive medical records and notes, to letters sent to patients, suppliers and a workforce of 1.7 million.
After faltering moves to digitise NHS medical records, the focus is very much on the challenges of legacy IT and the introduction of flexible approaches that deliver more advanced document management. The future of care depends heavily on the ability to exchange information more rapidly and securely between the many different organisations that make up the NHS, including the 42 integrated care systems.
Legacy IT is a chronic condition
It’s no secret the NHS is struggling with demand and resources and continues to rely on legacy office IT systems that inhibit innovation and increase cyber security risks. Retrieval of information remains slow compared with what is possible in fully digital systems.
It also leads to serious mistakes. A freedom of information request by the BBC this year found IT system failures linked to the deaths of three patients. Approximately 200,000 medical letters were not sent by 21 trusts because of widespread computer problems and nearly half of the hospitals with electronic patient systems reported problems that could affect patients. More than 400,000 letters were lost in computer systems at hospitals in Nottingham.
Digitisation is needed now
Digitisation of documentation is essential to overcome these difficulties and provide a superior care pathway for patients. Removing paper enables organisations to redesign hundreds of workflows leading to a more cost-effective organisation and a more fulfilled workforce. There is less waste of time, medicines and materials.
The NHS is fully aware of this. NHS England’s Transformation Directorate has plans to “extend digital maturity” in trusts to reshape health provision rather than simply to enhance existing services. The immediate aim is for “the majority of health and social care services to have digital foundations in place, including electronic patient records” by March 2025.
Under the records management ISO standard 15489-1:2016 endorsed by NHS Transformation, documents must be authentic, reliable, complete and unaltered, and useable. These are demanding requirements when NHS organisations continue to depend on legacy IT infrastructure.
Transforming patient information flows
Given how commercial organisations handle information today, it is clear the data flowing around legacy applications in the NHS can be more efficiently managed, particularly in relation to the electronic patient record (EPR) system.
Print is still required for backups and legal reasons so a redesign must unify digital and print-related processes. This will eliminate errors or duplications in relation to patient communications, for example, with full integration of print operations. The data provides a foundation for the integration of scan workflow solutions, using intelligent document routing and automation to reduce manual processes.
Wider implementation of automated digital processes eliminates gaps in the data exchange between complex administrative processes and systems.
Sustainability and cyber resilience are on the agenda
Any change must, however, meet the NHS’s sustainability ambitions. The NHS wants to become the world’s first carbon net zero national health system by 2045 and requires sustainable business practices in its managed service providers and suppliers.
Like all healthcare organisations around the world, the NHS is also under constant attack from ransomware criminals targeting data. Managed IT services providers involved in digitisation projects must therefore have the full range of demanding ISO standards and data security qualifications in their credentials. A managed service approach to cyber security means access privileges and human interactions are under 24/7 supervision. This integrates advanced solutions that constantly monitor network end-points for unauthorised access or activity.
With supply chain attacks so rife, NHS trusts need to be sure they are on-boarding partners that have the expertise, resources and insight, along with externally-validated cyber credentials to take on the work.
The managed services advantage
The managed services approach used by many NHS organisations in relation to their complex print requirements can be extended to cover business processes and IT. Intelligent process automation software is compatible with many HR and ERP platforms. Rather than replacing existing systems, it complements them, filling in any gaps in functionality. Automated indexing transforms document-tracking and retrieval, for example. Data capture from all workstreams facilitates access, insight and preparation.
This will transform costly and time-consuming medical archiving – a complex and legally necessary process that is extremely data-intensive and requires high levels of data-integrity, security and accessibility. Trusts can automate all these processes without loss of oversight and without compromising security.
This builds a bridge to further digitisation and the implementation of solutions designed to boost collaboration, harden data protection and make it easier to introduce sustainable work practices.
Ultimately, it will free up staff so they can focus on higher value tasks that contribute to improving the patient pathway.
Culture and mindset
Companies already intimately familiar with the NHS and its working practices are best-placed to provide these significant benefits in efficiency and security. They also know the importance of change-management when undertaking large-scale redesigns of data-exchange processes.
Frontline staff need reassurance that change will be positive and that the managed services company they have partnered with will still be around to provide full support once implementation has gone live.
Benefits are achievable right away
By taking well-defined steps that improve how it handles the vast volume of critical patient and administrative data in its processes, the NHS can make a big advance towards digital transformation. It will achieve greater efficiency and be able to provide more advanced care with better patient outcomes.
Automation and interoperability between new applications and legacy solutions will quickly give administrators and clinicians more time to deliver superior, patient-centred healthcare using advances in medical technology.
If the NHS is to address today’s challenges while gearing up up for the tech-driven future, the implementation of a new managed services approach to IT and documentation is a great start.
Gary Day
Gary Day is Group Director of Public Sector at Apogee Corporation.
With over 30 years of sales management experience within the Managed Print and IT solutions space, Gary has worked in both Corporate and Public Sector client channels. His most recent roles have been at executive level concentrating on successfully delivering sales channel integration, transformation and growth through sales team development.
