Early warning system aims to improve patient care
A new computer program has been developed to provide the NHS with an early warning system for identifying patients with long-term conditions most at risk of admittance to hospital.
The software from charitable foundation the King’s Fund uses patient information to work out who is most at risk of emergency hospital admissions. Data such as the patient’s age, type of illness, and recent contacts with the NHS are processed to work out which patients are most in need of care. NHS care teams can then work with patients to help them maintain their health and avoid a visit to hospital.
The project was commissioned by Essex Strategic Health Authority, acting as lead commissioner for the 28 SHAs, the Department of Health and the NHS Modernisation Agency.
King's Fund chief executive Niall Dickson said: “Providing better care for people with long-term conditions is one of the greatest challenges facing the NHS. We hope this programme will be more effective than previous techniques at identifying high-risk patients.”
The software is available free to the NHS. It will be further developed over the autumn to include data from community sources, further enhancing its capability. The final version should be available at the beginning of 2006.
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