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ICS uses data analytics to ‘wrap arms’ around stretched GP practices
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An ICS is using advanced data analytics to ‘wrap its arms’ around over-stretched GP practices by identifying patient behaviours that are driving increased demand.
Among the trends identified by Frimley Health and Care Integrated Care System (ICS), which is responsible for 800,000 patients in the South of England, are:
- A 17% annual rise in demand for primary care services, with demand increasing across all patient groups, not just the elderly or those with acute conditions;
- A specific trend among 18-35-year-olds classed as ‘generally well’ to bypass primary care and instead present directly to Accident & Emergency services.
The insights have been delivered by EMIS-X® Analytics – an advanced data analytics platform from leading primary care software provider Optum (formerly EMIS) – using data drawn from the local shared care record and population health tools.
Chief Information Officer at Frimley ICS, Mark Sellman, said: “The population demand we’ve identified is not isolated to deprived areas, from patients who have acute health concerns or those who are elderly, it’s an increase across the board.
“When you combine this with a reducing workforce and teams that have worked flat out during the pandemic, it’s perhaps not surprising that our GP practices are struggling.
We want to wrap our arms around GP practices and use data to help. We want to do things differently to make it better for our practices and our patients.
He added: “We have too large a number of patients for the number of primary care appointments we have available, which is leading to a doubling of other patients going to A&E. The data we’ve been able to analyse through EMIS-X Analytics has given us insight that each PCN can directly respond to.
“Next, we’re going to analyse what is causing the ‘generally well’, who should initially be treated within a primary care setting, to arrive in urgent care and what interventions we can put into place.”
Alex Barnett, Head of Analytics for Frimley ICS, said:
EMIS-X Analytics is opening a world of possibilities for our population health management programme – we are using this data to quantify in a meaningful way how demand from different segments of the population has changed over the course of the pandemic.
“For example, we have been able to work with EMIS [now Optum] to deploy population health segmentation models into front line records, which has helped to improve access for all patients and reduce barriers for patients with the most complex needs.”
Frimley ICS is one of the first NHS organisations to use EMIS-X Analytics, a cloud-based analytics suite of tools.
Dr Shaun O’Hanlon, Chief Medical and Strategy Officer at Optum, said:
Frimley is an excellent example of how ICSs can use data-driven insights to transform services. Crucially, the organisation is sharing insights at a local level to inspire action and change.
“Looking forward, I believe that advanced data analytics will become an essential part of effective service delivery within the NHS. The potential is simply enormous, especially when you consider the challenge of the post-Covid recovery and the need to quickly pinpoint gaps in care.”