Sharing imaging data between trusts
PenRAD has helped trusts in the peninsula work together more closely than before, introducing new approaches to share performance, workforce and facilitating cross-site reporting.
The challenge
An issue that is common to many trusts is that systems and practice have become unique to each environment. They may differ in ICT solutions, their methodology for reporting and coding patient outcomes, electronic patient records, and even tracking their staff establishment.
PenRAD wanted to explore how it could work with trusts to produce a peninsula-wide perspective on key data, such as scan volumes and performance, available equipment assets and locations, and estates. Workforce strategic planning also required a robust and consistent view of gaps in staffing and where succession planning may be needed to ensure retiring staff are replaced in a timely way.
Our approach
An early step was to put in place a data sharing agreement with and between all four trusts in the region, so that the governance was in place for a free-flow of information from each trusts. This alone was a significant achievement.
With PenRAD’s dedicated Senior Analyst, a BI Power Dashboard was set up to pull this information into a central repository and create relevant reports. This tool has been made available to all trusts and is providing useful evidence for both trust and peninsula decision-making and benefits reporting.
Impact and benefits
PenRAD has supported multiple network projects across priority clinical areas such as multiple sclerosis (MS), stroke and cancer
This resource has proved to be one of the key ways that the Imaging Network has been able to add value to the acute trusts. It has also been vital in underpinning initiatives like PenRAD’s Shared Insourced Reporting Programme and the existing Peninsula On-Call out-of-hours service (PROC).
By bringing data together and providing consistent reporting tools, the network can assess the impact of services, identify variation, and share learning between trusts.
Next steps
Developing our dashboard and data reporting has highlighted where there are significant differences in how trusts report data. More work is taking place to create consistency, particularly on the coding of scans and standard operating procedures. This in turn will improve data quality for national reporting.
Reports are now being updated almost in real-time, while new features are being added to help filter reports in more detail.
I would like to acknowledge and express our gratitude for your significant contributions to our unified MS protocol work providing some data for discussions. Your work has been invaluable, and we deeply appreciate the effort and dedication you have put into it.
Dr. Agne Straukiene, Consultant Neurologist & Multiple Sclerosis Service Lead, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust