The Docman Hub project within The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was part of the CQUIN target to remove the use of post and NHS mail to send documents. The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust now sends a variety of documents electronically, from 41 specialities, which include discharge summaries, A&E attendance letters, specialist services letters and maternity letters.
“Our initial business case was based around the cost savings associated with removing the need to send paper. The manual process was inefficient and not in line with QIPP principles to drive forward quality improvements. Reliance on external post created additional pressure on turnaround times and information was not received by GPs in a timely manner. This could have a significant impact on patient care provided in the community which is reliant on this information. Docman has significantly improved information sharing between the Trust and primary care.”
Minal Patel, Senior Project Manager, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have reported a number of benefits through using Docman Hub. “Information is now sent securely to GP Practices in real time with a full audit trail which provides patients with a positive experience as information is no longer lost or misplaced. In addition, Docman Hub has allowed us to ensure clinical correspondence reaches GPs within 5 days so The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust avoids any fines.”
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Savina Vagarwal, Project Manager – Electronic Correspondence, Hillingdon CCG “The end result has been a significant improvement in the efficiency of GP practices in their use of Docman with EMIS Web, and The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has delivered early on its commitment to send discharge letters electronically by 1st October 2015.”
A key success factor within the project is the relationship between The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, CCG and GP Practices within the area. Matthew Kybert, Systems Development & Integration Manager, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust “We have a really collaborative relationship with our local Practices and CCG. This project has further strengthened our relationship and has provided a joined-up approach to managing patient care in our area.”
Kamran Bhatti, Senior Commissioning Manager, Hillingdon CCG “As commissioners we are very pleased that The Hillingdon Hospital has been able to use Docman Hub to automate transmission of clinical correspondence to our GPs. Thanks to a joint project team from the Trust, CCG and Docman, the implementation went very smoothly.”
Matthew Kybert, Systems Development & Integration Manager, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust “The next part of our project is to continue to send even more letters electronically to GPs through Docman Hub and to reach practices out of area. We will do this by relaying with local Healthcare Providers Docman Hub and be able to deliver letters to their local practices.”