Patient data is personal medical information held by a healthcare provider. It is information about demographics (name, address, contact details), admin (appointments, waiting lists) and key medical details about any conditions, symptoms or treatments.
Data protection in healthcare is a hot topic as the demand for access to healthcare data grows. To achieve this, healthcare providers are typically using patient portals so that people can access their own information, but data sharing in healthcare carries inherent risk regarding access to this highly personal information.
Securing patient records is a little easier thanks to the healthcare data standards enshrined in law, but there’s still an onus on health and care organisations to provide further safeguards against attack, theft, or privacy breaches.
In this article we will explore why data security is so important in healthcare, the specific issues facing security and how to address them, as well as the costs of data security issues in healthcare and our recommendations for electronic patient records.
Getting organisations and services within the NHS to collaborate has been a goal for many years, but with the NHS Long Term Plan well underway, collaboration is now firmly in focus.
You may have already read our previous article about Collaborative Working in the NHS, which is the crux of the subject matter, but NHS Trusts in England are a big part of the execution of this collaboration.
In this article we’ll explore how NHS England is enacting this collaboration and what it entails, as well as looking at the FutureNHS collaboration platform and the role it is playing in encouraging communication and partnerships across the country. NHS Trusts will already be aware of the NHS collaboration goals, but we want you the reader to see this and to see our top tips for Trusts about how to foster these relationships and establish the correct communication channels. We want our readers to come away from this article thinking that they have a much better understanding of – and an appetite for – collaborative working, and that starts here.
Digital solutions are becoming the backbone for businesses across the world and healthcare is no different. Technological innovation has digitally transformed healthcare commissioning, providing a range of cost-effective solutions accessible using cloud technology.
Not only has cloud-based commissioning disrupted the market, but also enabled NHS procurement teams to streamline processes, connect providers and patients, react quickly, and support the provision of consistent, high-quality care.
Discover why healthcare is turning to cloud services and what the full advantages of using cloud commissioning technology, like the Access adam healthcare solution, can do to transform procurement services.
Virtual wards are the future of healthcare, designed to allow for greater patient independence, a faster discharge, and to help avoid any health deterioration due to an extended stay on a hospital ward.
With modern medicine improving life expectancy, we're ourselves part of an ageing population; witnessing in real-time how science is combating issues like cancer, dementia, heart disease, and so much more. This means more demand for healthcare than ever.
Hospitals have a myriad of difficulties to overcome, but the virtual ward is now more than a concept. Case studies of NHS virtual wards have shown they help to relieve demand for hospital beds, reduce overcrowding, and improve the overall patient experience.
In this article we answer what is a virtual ward, what is a ward, and how a virtual hospital ward differs from the traditional approach. We also expand upon NHS virtual wards and virtual ward pathways; how do they fit into the existing care flow from diagnosis to treatment?
Hospital discharge delays are becoming a major issue for patients, their families, hospitals, and local authorities. The UK Government has announced a £250 million discharge fund to combat the ever-growing impact of delayed hospital discharges.
If you are responsible for social care in your local authority, or work within healthcare this discharge fund is probably on your mind. You may be struggling to decide how best to utilise the fund so your local community can fully benefit from it, or you might be wanting to see what other local authorities are currently doing to reduce hospital discharge delays for inspiration.
At The Access Group we are aware of the challenges local authorities face to keep up with the demand and capacity to accommodate all discharge plans as they come through. We know ideally the best place for patients to continue recovering is in their own homes, however due to staffing capacities this is not always the case.
We provide a plethora of digital tools and solutions to local authorities, hospitals, health and social care providers, to help them work more efficiently, plan for and manage demand, and to integrate and improve services.
This article will review the causes of hospital discharge delays and how that impacts the patient, the community, hospitals, and your local area. We also explain in depth the terms of the Government’s discharge fund and what that means for local authorities, the reactions to this discharge fund, and what are the best ways to utilise the funding to reduce these delays to improve patient outcomes further.
Community alarm systems have been available since the early 1970s and the fundamentals have changed little. However, in the last few years, spurred on in part by the pandemic, use and interest in both digital telecare and digital telehealth have grown massively.
If you are a local authority you are probably regularly searching for different ways to help your adults and older residents be able to live independently and safely at home for as long as possible . Increasingly, Local Authorities are looking for solutions that go beyond just reactive alarms for emergencies and are looking for more proactive , preventative solutions with an alarm service acting as a safety net.
You might be a loved one or a relative of someone that needs extra support and could be overwhelmed with all the information that is out there on personal alarms for older people, and want to find out all the information you need in one place.
Or you might just want to see the differences between different types of alarms to identify which one best suits your needs.
If that is you then by the end of this article all your questions surrounding community alarm systems will be answered.
At The Access Group we make it a priority to put people first with everything we do. We want to give people the freedom to do more and promote the importance of person-centred support and care. We aware of the challenges facing local authorities with the current shortages in capacity, hospital discharge delays and the importance of delivering their responsibilities under the Care Act.
So, we want to ease this stress and help you find the best community alarm for you and your community.
Innovation in home care can’t solve every challenge domiciliary care providers face. If you are a care provider in the UK, you probably feel extremely held back by the low price paid for care and the impact this has on staffing, your capacity and even care quality.
That said, the fact you have found yourself here shows you want to succeed despite these challenges, to utilise the best new innovative ideas, approaches and technologies, to help improve care quality and safety, in an efficient and sensible way.
Our sector is not necessarily the quickest to utilise these innovations. Probably in no small part due to the financial pressures faced and the disparate ways in which innovation is shared across the UK’s care networks, if at all.
At The Access Group we provide a complete suite of home care software to tens of thousands of home care services across the UK, through our relationships with clients and partners like the Home Care Association, National Care Forum and others, we stay ‘plugged in’ to how home care providers are innovating.
So, while I can’t help you getting a better rate for care services, I can show you some of the best examples of innovative home care and how they could help you and your care services.
In this article I will highlight some key examples of innovation in home care, including self-managing teams, artificial intelligence, next generation telecare and robotics.
After reading it, you should have a selection of practical approaches and technology that you can consider using in your own care services, and which you should avoid.
Telehealth has lots of benefits and challenges. One of the biggest challenges is providing telehealth to older adults.
Like the rest of the UK, you are more than likely to be aware that the use of telehealth and telemedicine has risen dramatically since the pandemic. Even if you are unsure what telehealth means, you have more than likely been exposed to it thanks to the rise in virtual health visits.
In 2020 80% physicians and 22% of consumers were using virtual visits and these numbers continue to rise. However, with the number of virtual visits increasing telehealth services have experienced a number of barriers and challenges.
The cost of telehealth services, plus the cost and staff involved in using telehealth technologies can vary from place to place. As a whole the use of telehealth services across the whole of the UK rose dramatically during the pandemic. Even though the rate of health and social care providers and local authorities using telehealth services have stabilized since then there have been many benefits for both end-users and the system itself.
But just how much do telehealth services cost and is telehealth cost effective?
If you are a health or social care provider, or a loved one you may be wondering whether the return on investment for telehealth services is worth it and whether you will still receive the same quality of care virtually.
Assistive technology (AT) has transformed the way care services support people with age-related conditions and disabilities. These assistive technologies are beginning to play a crucial role in care homes, as they enhance the quality of life for residents, promote independence and improve overall health and wellbeing. From helping people living with dementia maintain cognitive function, to aiding those with physical impairments to perform daily tasks, assisted technology offers a wide range of solutions.
The Access Group have been supporting care services across the world for over 30 years through digitisation. We know more than most about the fantastic impact technology can have on a business and how it can save time, money, space and resources in the long run.
As the use and development of assistive technology increases, we thought it would be a great idea to put together this comprehensive guide, so you can gain a better understanding of these devices and learn how they can improve the lives of your service users. We will take a closer look at the importance of assistive technology in care homes and provide examples of assistive technology being utilised to address a variety of needs.
