NHS Direct - Rackspace

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CASE STUDY
NHS Direct
Digital exceeds telephone service usage
The groundbreaking ‘Digital First’ strategy introduced by NHS Direct has
achieved another significant milestone where more people are now
accessing NHS Direct’s services online than via the telephone. The
online Health and Symptom Checkers (HaSCs) went live in June 2010
and were designed for hourly use by 5,000 users, but their success and
huge popularity have seen this figure typically exceed 8,000. Since its
introduction, the site has seen an expansion from 5 to 40 HaSCs;
delivery of the service on mobile device apps, and a broadening of its
scope through syndication partners such as NHS Choices and Directgov
who also offer the HaSCs through their websites.
Advanced online assessment
The advanced system was developed by InferMed Limited in
conjunction with partners Eduserv and Sitecore, and is hosted in the UK
by Rackspace® Hosting. The platform allows the delivery of online
assessments, and provides greater choice for the patients that make
780,000 visits per month to access the NHS Direct health and symptom
checkers online. The service has met an increasingly important demand
in a safe and effective way, and has proved to be very popular with
patients and the public. At its peak following the launch of the service on
mobile device apps there were a remarkable 20,000 users in one hour.
Every month over 780,000 visitors
access the NHS Direct health and
symptom checkers online. Rackspace
Hosting ensures service uptime.
Digital Remote Care
Duane Lawrence, CEO of InferMed Limited, said, “NHS Direct made an
historically important decision to lead the way in the adoption of
advanced online services to provide an exciting new platform for the
delivery of digital remote care.” These new clinical self-assessment
tools are a forerunner of the way in which people will interact with the
NHS in the future. The new services were initially available via the web
and have since transitioned to wider channels.
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“A key factor for any online
service has to be guaranteed
uptime and availability as well
as the complete system
security to ensure lasting
consumer confidence.
Duane Lawrence
CEO - InferMed
The key advantage to the NHS through advanced technology combined
with a strategic vision for future Healthcare is the way that the InferMed
consortium has created a firm foundation for the future.
Roger Donald, Associate Director for Multichannel at NHS Direct
commented, “I believe the work of the InferMed consortium is changing
the way in which people interact with NHS Direct, by allowing individuals
to take more control over their own health, and saving face-to-face
health services for those times when they are most needed.
Cost savings
The secure system allows patients to move seamlessly from the web to a
telephone helpline if needed, providing far greater choice as to how patients
can access clinical help. This in turn frees up the NHS Direct helpline and
reduces the incidence of callouts for ambulance and paramedics, or
unnecessary visits to GPs and A&E departments, thus creating significant
cost savings. In the first year the use of the website health and symptom
checkers (HaSCs) resulted in 1.3m fewer visits to other healthcare
professionals, including 0.7m visits to GPs, saving the NHS an annual total
of £57m, according to Nick Chapman, chief executive of NHS Direct.
Uptime and availability is key
Duane Lawrence highlighted the dynamics behind the project’s success,
“A key factor for any online service has to be guaranteed uptime and
availability, it is the foundation of this system; every benefit and
advancement in online healthcare is negated if the patient cannot get to
the service through technical fault or sheer demand.” Duane went on to
say, “To this end it was critical to have the right hosting partner, which is
why we chose Rackspace Hosting.”
Service expansion and guaranteed uptime
As a result of the growing popularity of the service through various
platforms and delivery channels Rackspace responded with adjustments
to the hosting infrastructure. To maintain a smooth, reliable service to the
public, the Rackspace support team added additional load balancers and
increased the system memory to cope with greater demand.
Intensive Solution is the backbone
Duane summarised, “The Rackspace Intensive hosting package is the
backbone of our solution delivery. It provides the 24/7/365 network
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uptime that is essential for such an operation, and guarantees hardware
replacement and rapid scaling to meet new demand. To cap it all, the
intensive hosting package from Rackspace has proven to be remarkably
cost-effective, and I certainly intend to partner with Rackspace in the
future to meet the hosting needs of similar solutions in the UK and
throughout the world.”
Patient Record Security
Rackspace Security is a fully integrated portfolio of services, managed
devices, and best practices – designed to ensure the highest level of
security around customer data. This approach is validated through the
ISO 27001 certification and SAS 70 Type II audited hosting facilities. For
the InferMed solution with NHS Direct, Rackspace has also facilitated a
direct link to the secure NHS N3 network, which provides access to all
NHS sites and patient records.
Specialists in online healthcare
InferMed specialises in software for healthcare. The name is derived
from ‘Inference in Medicine’ and the suites are designed to help
clinicians, healthcare payers and patients get access to the optimal
treatment, personalised for each individual. The Arezzo workflow and
inference rules engine is the basis of the NHS project and allows design
and execution of NHS authored clinical guidelines and patient care
protocols in real time.
Arezzo’s key differentiator is that the system makes actionable medical
guidelines only asking relevant questions for each individual; tracking
that individual over time, and providing timely feedback based on their
personal data. Today, Arezzo has the ability to make treatment or next
step recommendations based on personal histories, allowing patients to
consider all their options before visiting a GP or clinician. If asked to do
so, the system could send the GP a report of the patient’s activities /
interactions with the system, bringing him/her up to date on the details.
The trend towards incorporating evidence based actionable medical
knowledge into personal clinical heath records will eventually play a key
part in revolutionising the quality, safety and effectiveness of clinical
care.
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New dawn of Online Health services
Duane Lawrence concluded, “We are confident that the work completed
by the consortium has enabled a new dawn of online healthcare services
that are helping the NHS deliver a broader, more efficient service to a
greater number of people at a considerably lower cost. This is a stated
Government objective and we are very pleased to be helping to fulfil
these aims.”
Further details about InferMed Limited and their medical software
solutions can be obtained from the website, www.infermed.com or call
+44 (0) 20 7291 7410
Meeting Challenges
If you require the ultimate critical care hosting service where nothing is
left to chance, then the choice has to be Rackspace. Please visit our
website at any time www.rackspace.co.uk or call us for friendly and
FREE hosting advice on 0800 988 0100.