Transformation of Outpatient Services
The Long Term Plan challenges the system to move from face-to- face outpatient appointments. There are digital opportunities including the redesign of outpatient services through virtual appointments, diagnostic tests and support tools for GPs, remote monitoring technology and local clinics.
About the challenge
Working with regional stakeholders, who have the transformation of outpatient services as one of the key priorities within their health care system, we have identified key areas of need and worked collaboratively to bring together a wide range of innovations to support outpatient services redesign. These include speciality specific innovations as well as those that apply across a range of patient pathways.
The NHS Long Term Plan states that over the next five years:
“redesigned hospital support will be able to avoid up to a third of outpatient appointments - saving patients 30 million trips to hospital and saving the NHS over £1 billion a year in new expenditure averted.”
How can innovation help?
Innovation can potentially deliver outpatient services differently including:
GP or home-based diagnostic tests/tools to reduce hospital referrals
Remote monitoring technology, telehealth or self-management tools enabling patients and carers to manage conditions at home or in primary care;
Technology that enables alternatives to face-to-face consultations including: online/ video, online appointment booking, pre and post-operative assessments and patient engagement, as well as a shift to patient-led follow-up.
We are seeking to identify innovations that can support health and care systems in delivering this challenging and exciting target – if you have something to offer, we’d like to hear about it so please email info@yhahsn.com
