iPAMS - Integrated Patient Acuity Monitoring System

iPAMS - Integrated
Patient Acuity
Monitoring System
Albatross
Financial Solutions
Working in collaboration
with
Guy’s and St Thomas’
iPAMS – Integrated Patient Acuity Monitoring System
Introduction:
In today's tough financial environment, the NHS is under pressure to drive down cost and increase efficiency whilst improving patient
care. The Francis report published in February 2013 has raised awareness of the effect that cost pressures can have on the delivery of a
quality service. Therefore, it is more important than ever to ensure that frontline staff are provided with the right tools and processes to
meet all targets, not just the financial ones.
Albatross in partnership with Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust has developed a user-friendly integrated Patient Acuity
Monitoring System, (iPAMS), which delivers safety, quality and financial benefits in one solution.
What is iPAMS and how does it work?
iPAMS is a web-based solution that uses the criteria set out by the AUKUH (The Association of University UK Hospitals)
Acuity/Dependency Tool to measure acuity and dependency at individual patient and overall ward level in real time. It allows nurses to
record acuity and transfer information quickly and effectively at the bedside up to three times a day. iPAMS monitors the level of patient
dependency to enable nursing staff to ensure safe staffing levels based on the volume and acuity of patients cared for.
iPAMS data feeds also significantly enhance the accuracy of the Patient Level Costing process by integrating patient acuity information
into the existing cost allocation method.
The iPAMS process - quick and easy to use
• At handover, a nurse logs in to iPAMS using an iPad, Tablet or PC.
• They are presented with a pre-populated web form containing up-to-date patient ward stay information. Each entry on the form
is pre-populated with the lowest level of dependency on the AUKUH Acuity/Dependency Tool.
• The nurse will then "touch" or "click" the button that indicates the relevant level of dependency for each individual patient on
the ward.
• The data is immediately sent to a central data repository that can be integrated/linked to any number of hospital information
systems including PLICS.
• Material changes in patient acuity/dependency are notified directly to the relevant matron for investigation and action.
Features & Benefits of iPAMS:
• Captures patient acuity up to three times every 24 hours to track the progress of a patient. It is possible to capture this
information by day and night to monitor patient acuity and assess against and recommend nursing establishment to support
effective and efficient workforce deployment.
• Triggers an alert when patient acuity levels rise higher than the ward nursing establishment is able to safely meet, providing
clear, real-time patient acuity information to nurse managers.
• Ensures that confidential nursing handover information is contained in one secure place, supporting clinical governance
requirements.
• Assists bed management by identifying patients who may be appropriate for movement around the hospital, ensuring patient
safety whilst alleviating bed pressures.
• Provides evidence based decision support for nurse management regarding workforce establishment and agency/bank
requirements.
• Allows nurses to enter data in real-time on the ward reducing administrative time completing paper based forms.
• Enhances the accuracy of Patient Level Costing by supporting the integration of patient acuity information into the existing
cost allocation process.
The System infrastructure:
iPAMS is designed to provide on-line real time recording of patient acuity information by nursing staff on wards. The system architecture
has seven main elements:
WARD STAY
DATA
TXT File
SYSTEM
ADMINISTRATOR UNIT
6
4
iPAMS REPORTS
3
1
WARD STAY
DATA
HL7
iPAMS
ETL UNIT
iPAMS
SQL DATABASE
7
Visual
Importer
PLICS
WEB FORM
WARD STAY
DATA
DWH
Nurse
Managers
5
2
Finance
Team
Nurses
on Wards
"We should provide
evidence-based guidance
which allows trusts to know
that, if they follow it, they will
have sufficient nurses to
provide safe and proper
care in an individual clinical
setting."
Robert Francis QC
Health Committee interview
12th February 2013
1. Data Sources – iPAMS is designed to extract patient ward stay information from a variety of data sources.
2. ETL Tool – configured to extract information from the live ward stay data source.
3. SQL Data repository – stores all the patient ward stay and acuity information.
4. System Administrator Unit – provides all the necessary functionality to create/delete/modify users and grant access rights, update
lists of wards, modify acuity level descriptions, set establishments data, etc.
5. Web Form – A web front end which enables nursing staff to record acuity information, ward data (number of admissions, absence,
transfers, etc), patient notes, etc.
6. iPAMS Reports – Offers a high level of flexibility in reporting analysis allowing users to design an array of front end reports
including:
• Workforce planning
• Nurse management
• Nurse sensitive indicators
• Patient flow
• Quality of care
• Staff hours and rostering
7. PLICS Interface – To further enhance the accuracy of Patient level costing, iPAMS will allow for the integration of patient acuity
information into the existing cost allocation method.
“The ability to efficiently manage
resources is dependent on our
awareness of accurate and
transparent acuity information
delivered at a patient level which
iPAMS provides. We welcome the
introduction of this new and
enhanced integrated patient
acuity management system as
this will enable operational teams
to more effectively manage
resource and thereby contribute
to improving patient care and
service efficiency.”
iPAMS uses the criteria set out by the AUKUH Acuity/Dependency Tool:
Eileen Sills CBE
Chief Nurse,
Guy’s and St Thomas’
NHS Foundation Trust
"The obvious thing is that on a day-in-day-out basis, the ward sister, the director of nursing or whoever else it is in a hospital, needs to
know, 'I have enough nursing staff of the right calibre on this ward to deal with the patients I have there today'."
Robert Francis QC Health Committee interview - 12th February 2013
Conclusion
The Francis report has quite rightly driven patient safety to the top of every hospital trust agenda. iPAMS is a powerful frontline tool that
supports senior nurses as they manage valuable nursing resource to ensure that staffing levels reflect the patient need by providing a
real-time picture of patient acuity and dependency.
iPAMS will also ensure that the costing process is calculated in a much more accurate manner based on the level/intensity of care
delivered per patient. As more and more Trusts start to collect Patient Acuity information the aim is that ultimately the national tariff will
start to reimburse Trusts more accurately for the cost of the care delivered.
The leading authority in:
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Financial Solutions
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Cheshire WA4 4FS
Tel: 01925 607365
Email: info@albatross-fs.com
• Patient Level costing
• Service Line Reporting
• Reference Costing
• Financial Management
• Income Monitoring & Management
• Clinical Engagement
• Cost Benchmarking