NEWS
HEALTHCARE INNOVATOR REDUCES INFERTILITY WAITING TIMES BY HALF AND SAVES MILLIONS WITH SMART REFERRAL FORMS
DXS , an independent digital healthcare firm , has achieved revolutionary results with the deployment of its SMART referral forms to an NHS Infertility Service . These cutting-edge digital tools are designed to streamline the referral process , ensuring timely and efficient access to specialised healthcare services . Since the implementation of the forms , waiting times have been cut in half , now down to 22 weeks from over 44 weeks . A recent independent financial impact analysis by Health Tech Enterprise underscores the practical advantages of DXS ’ s SMART Referral Forms . Part-financed by Health Innovation East , the investigation highlights significant efficiency benefits and financial returns for healthcare providers .
Djavid Alleemudder , an Obs and Gynae consultant specialising in infertility in Suffolk and North East Essex , emphasised the strain these challenges placed on his team . Couples endured waits of 44 weeks or more , only to face rejection for this time-sensitive , specialised service . He stressed that inappropriate referrals caused profound heartache for couples , raising concerns far beyond mere organisational issues .
Alleemudder said : “ Drawing from my experience , it was evident that we required a distinct approach . Making specific fields mandatory and introducing a revamped referral form were crucial steps in our strategy .”
Since the release of the new SMART Infertility Form in August 2021 , Djavid and his team demonstrated significant improvements in the Infertility Service , including reduced inappropriate referrals , waiting times and administrative burdens . The results revealed that the number of inappropriate referrals received has fallen to 0 % down from 36 % previously , but equally as astonishing , waiting times have been halved , reduced to 22 weeks from over 44 weeks . Alleemudder explained that the updated SMART Infertility Referral Form has transformed his infertility services . He said : “ It ’ s not only helped us to gain an indepth analysis of what was going wrong , but it ’ s delivered results that change lives , and makes our service to our patients much more efficient , which is life changing in our sector , and what we do .”
UK GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES INITIATIVE TO COMBAT ETHNIC AND OTHER BIASES IN MEDICAL DEVICES
The government has announced action to tackle potential bias in the design and use of medical devices , as it accepts recommendations from a UKfirst independent review into equity in medical devices . The Department of Health and Social Care commissioned senior health experts to identify potential biases in these devices and recommend how to tackle them .
The government fully accepted the report ’ s conclusions and has made a series of commitments , including ensuring that pulse oximeter devices used in the NHS can be used safely across a range of skin tones , and removing racial bias from data sets used in clinical studies . As a result , significant action is already being taken to overcome potential disparities in the performance of medical devices . This includes :
» The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ( MHRA ) now requests that approval applications for new medical devices describe how they will address bias .
» NHS guidance has been updated to highlight potential limitations of pulse oximeter devices on patients with darker skin tone .
» The National Institute for Health and Care Research ( NIHR ) is currently accepting funding applications for research into smarter oximeters .
The review followed concerns that pulse oximeters – widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor blood oxygen levels – were not as accurate for patients with darker skin tones , which could have led to delays in treatment if dangerously low oxygen levels in patients with darker skin tone were missed . However , the review found no evidence from studies in the NHS of this differential performance affecting care . The medical devices review focused on three areas – optical devices such as pulse oximeters , AI-enabled devices and polygenic risk scores ( PRS ) in genomics . Minister of State , Andrew Stephenson , said : “ Ministers agree that unless appropriate action is taken , ethnic and other unfair biases can occur throughout the medical device life cycle , from research , development and testing , to approval , deployment and post-market monitoring , as well as in the use of devices once deployed .”
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