Simplifying Healthcare via Integrated Care

The NHS Long Term Plan?is an ambitious and ground-breaking document which was published by the NHS in 2019, outlining the healthcare and funding priorities of the NHS over the subsequent ten years. One of the key commitments established within this plan was driving the integration and interoperability of England’s healthcare system, two components which are now regarded as critical to the future of the NHS. Ultimately, the goal is to facilitate a simplified and integrated healthcare system which is digitally, easily and securely accessible to patients and staff alike.

The potential impact of these developments, if they were to be rolled out in their entirety, is significant. What’s more, the promising results which have been delivered so far have illustrated that the NHS is capable of implementing these measures in order to deliver world-class care and truly make a difference to patients and communities. Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), supported by interoperable electronic information exchange, are recognised as?key enablers to the future of the NHS. These systems will enable collaborations and partnerships between NHS services and local authorities so that they can take on the joint responsibility for healthcare provision within a particular area, tailored to its specific healthcare landscape.

There is no doubt that the NHS is at an unprecedented tipping point, where the development of more integrated and interoperable health and care systems has become essential not only to the provision of enhanced care for patients but also to the long-term economic viability of the NHS. Essential to achieving this will be enabling the secure and unrestricted passage of patient, clinical and administrative information between health and care staff, patients, and organisations. Ultimately, by integrating care and enhancing interoperability, the NHS can simplify cross-sector communications and collaborations between ICSs, build partnerships and promote sustainable transformation.

A simpler, more sustainable approach to healthcare

Healthcare systems are incredibly complex organisations, and the NHS is no exception. With an extensive history spanning over multiple decades, England’s healthcare system operates across regions, specialisms, providers and disciplines. The sheer scale and complexity of the NHS today means that there is now?an abundance of isolated and separate systems and databases?which simply cannot communicate effectively with one another, integrate their data, or receive and transmit standardised medical and technical guidance.

One of the?more?concerning problems?presented by a fragmented healthcare system, however, is that of patient safety. Without sufficient integration and interoperability, there is an increased likelihood of patients being placed at risk due to erroneous or incomplete information. This may result in miscommunications, medical errors, hospital readmissions or insufficient care. Fragmentation also presents a significant barrier to research and development, because without systematic and organised data, meaningful findings can’t be identified and applied to treatments, therapies and actual practice.

The challenges and difficulties presented by the Covid-19 pandemic served to further exacerbate these problems, whilst simultaneously illustrating the urgency with which the internal processes and infrastructures of the NHS need to be simplified and integrated.?It is critical that this happens so that patients and communities can access the high-quality resources, services and care that they need, whilst also facilitating straightforward and robust care pathways via which healthcare staff can respond to and accommodate the requirements and expectations of the patients and communities they work with.

Essentially, the purpose of?an?integrated?and interoperable?healthcare?system?is to simplify access to NHS resources and services and consolidate its sustainability so that effective care continues to be delivered even in the midst of demographic changes, epidemics and crises. Primarily, this will be achieved by encouraging collaborative partnerships between government departments, health providers and social facilities so that they can improve services and outcomes for patients throughout England.

The transformative impact of integrated and Interoperable care

By restructuring the NHS on a model which emphasises integration and interoperability, the quality of care will be enhanced, patients will be empowered and multiple services and facilities will be connected and integrated. The demand for an integrated and patient-centric approach to healthcare has never been higher, and the NHS over the last few years has been working consistently to implement?ICSs?throughout its services in order to improve access, optimise patient outcomes and encourage collaboration.

The NHS Long Term Plan endeavours to introduce legislation which will ensure that all regions of England will be covered by one of these ICSs. This is to?ensure more joined-up care,?improved?integration, and reduced bureaucracy when it comes to exchanging information and implementing key decisions. The central purpose of this legislation is to eliminate the complex and excessive bureaucracy which hinders efficient and logical decision-making. This will also facilitate a system with heightened accountability, and one which is responsive to the people that work within it and the people who use it.

Technology is another critical aspect of these reforms, especially with regards to the simplification and integration of healthcare pathways. The initiatives outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan evidently require a delicate balance, wherein the responsibilities of those who provide funding and those who provide care will remain distinct – in order to continue ensuring that the funding is applied where it is needed most. On the other hand, it is important that changes are made which facilitate a more joined-up?approach built on collaborative relationships. The focus is on population health, using the collective resources of the local system, NHS, local authorities, the voluntary sector and others to improve the health of local areas.

Reshaping the NHS

The healthcare landscape is undergoing a transitional period. The population of England is not only expanding, but people are living longer than ever and experiencing more long-term conditions and multiple co-morbidities.??One in three patients?admitted to hospital for an emergency appointment suffer from at least five health conditions, whereas ten years ago this statistic was only one in ten patients. Smoking rates may be decreasing, but for various environmental and epidemiological reasons diabetes, obesity, dementia and mental health issues have been rising.

Within an integrated?and interoperable?healthcare system, commissioners, clinicians and patients can communicate and work with one another across sectors and regions so that the NHS can deliver a coordinated response to the individual requirements and circumstances of its patient population. The idea is that a simplified healthcare system will enable local NHS authorities to deliver more accessible, integrated and effective care for patients by streamlining the planning and organisation of the delivery of its services.

This is a model of healthcare which doesn’t merely focus on the treatment of disease, but simultaneously addresses lifestyles factors, prevention, and assisting people so that they can live healthily and independently for as long as possible. By ensuring that the various facets of the NHS collaborate with one another, the NHS can truly provide high quality and simplified healthcare, so that people can live longer, healthier, active and more independent lives Simplifying Healthcare via Integrated Care.

Founded in 2021 by CEO Hadleigh Stollar, HIC challenges the status quo surrounding the adoption and spread of technology and innovation across the NHS and Social care. Our aim is to support the health and care system with the right skills and experiences to improve efficiency, efficacy, and productivity. HIC works with several reliable, reputable, and respected partners, who have complementary experience in this sector.

Because innovation is everyone’s business, we’ve made it ours.?

www.hicdigital.co.uk