Organisation:
HPFT (Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust)
Health care sector:
Mental Health & Learning Disability
Implemented solution:
HPFT stands for Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (“the Trust”). It is a mental health and learning disability trust in England that provides services across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk, and Essex. HPFT was established in 2007 and is one of the largest mental health trusts in England. It employs over 4,000 people and provides services to over 400,000 people.
In line with its Digital Strategy, the Trust needed a system to digitise various clinical assessments and outcome measures to improve service user experience as well as reduce the administrative burden on care professionals. QuestManager was selected following a formal procurement exercise as the solution to provide this functionality.
The Trust has a set of assessments and outcome measures developed on the platform which are sent to service users (patients) automatically via an SMS either at regular intervals or based on appointment dates. Service users can complete these online and a link to the results is immediately added to the electronic patient record (EPR). Before or during appointments, staff can click through from the EPR and access the responses including graphs to show changes over time aiding discussions about care.
One of the ways QuestManager supports HPFT’s process is by digitising PROMs. This helps to enhance service user engagement and adherence to treatment plans. How? By sending regular invitations to complete outcome measures and other questionnaires, we can make patients feel more invested in their care. This is especially effective when these assessments are timed to coincide with key points in the treatment journey and discussed in detail with care professionals.
One of the key benefits of using digital PROMs over traditional paper-based assessments is the increased efficiency and accuracy they offer. Paper-based PROMs need to be printed and then scanned and attached to the EPR record once completed. This creates additional cost as well as additional work for staff. The paper-based approach heavily relies on staff remembering to ask the service user to complete a PROM whereas digital PROMs can be sent automatically based on set intervals or appointment dates.
Because the digital PROMs are sent automatically, the completeness of the data is better as the process doesn’t rely on staff remembering to ask service user to complete them. Service users can complete the measures in their own environment and time, rather than in the waiting room or clinic room so they may be able to give more considered responses.
Since the data is automatically entered to the system following completion by a service user, the process is not affected by human errors such as forgetting to attach the PROM or data entry errors.
The link from the system into our reporting solution also means it is easier to track which service users have completed PROMs and which ones have not.
For the service users under our care who are keen to engage digitally, moving from paper to a digital way of working has provided a streamlined and user-friendly way for regular outcome monitoring to be completed, increasing the proportion of people with completed outcome measures and avoiding a burden on clinicians to spend time preparing and transcribing them, so they can use this time to provide care.
The responses to questions around satisfaction with care, including medication and psychological therapies, may enable open discussions with care professionals leading to better shared decision making.
Prior to QuestManager, service users usually completed these assessments/PROMs during their appointment which the administrative staff would then have to scan and attach to their electronic records. QuestManager has saved valuable time during appointment as well as reduced the administrative burden for staff.
Outcome measures are a key aspect of service user centred care. Using a tool like QuestManager enables us to collect these regularly which allows our care professionals to discuss progress towards these outcomes and coproduce changes to care plans where necessary.
In addition to the other benefits, QuestManager also helped us reduce our printing costs for paper-based assessment and PROMs, delivering both financial and environmental benefits.
