An NHS project to predict instances of acute kidney injury (AKI) and reduce avoidable deaths associated with the devastating condition, is to form the foundation of a keynote speech at EHI Live on 4th November. Donald Kennedy, managing director of specialist health technology developer Patientrack, will address the conference on how a genuine collaboration with clinical pioneers at Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, supported by the government's Small Business Research Initiative, is for the first time, creating a predictive tool that alerts clinicians to take preventative action when patients show signs of being at risk of developing AKI.
A growing number of NHS and overseas hospitals have been working with Patientrack, a UK SME (small to medium sized enterprise), so that doctors can be directly alerted to intervene and prevent patient deterioration. At the same time the technology digitises bedside observations for nurses and automates early warning score calculations - allowing staff to spend more time with ill patients when they most need it.
Hospitals have also been using the technology in very different ways, beyond these initial applications, to tackle serious illnesses and to improve care. Some have been using it to help staff manage specific conditions including AKI, sepsis, dementia and diabetes, whilst others have used it to help doctors and nurses ensure that patients on end of life pathways are as comfortable and pain free as possible.
Kennedy will explore through his address the real benefits of genuine collaboration so that clinical priorities can be tackled for the benefit of the patient.
"We are fortunate to work with so many forward thinking hospitals that have turned to an agile UK SME to address the real needs of their patients, nurses and doctors.
"Being invited to address the keynote stream at EHI Live is a great opportunity to share some of these stories and in particular, to highlight how one collaboration is helping to tackle AKI, a very serious and deadly condition linked with as many as 100,000 deaths in England's hospitals each year.
"This is not about technology for technology's sake being sold to the NHS. This is about listening to clinicians to make their clinical ideas come to life, so that as many patients as possible can benefit."
Kennedy will deliver his talk, 'Predict, prevent and manage acute kidney injury (AKI): A UK collaboration to detect a devastating condition', at 16.15 on 4th November 2015 in the EHI Keynotes stream. Other speakers in the EHI keynotes stream include Tim Kelsey, NHS England's outgoing national director for patients and information and Andy Williams, chief executive officer at the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Patientrack is also offering demonstrations of the technology on stand E81 at Birmingham's EHI Live event, where members of the team are available for informal discussions on how the technology is being used in other hospitals across the country.
About Patientrack
Patientrack helps hospitals deliver safer care - which is also more cost-effective care - by ensuring observation and assessment protocols are carried out correctly and consistently, and by automatically calculating early warning scores and alerting clinicians when interventions are needed. Through early identification of deteriorating patients, and the promoting of necessary assessments, Patientrack helps hospitals meet national and local targets for improvements in patient safety, improving patient outcomes and supporting frontline staff, while at the same time cutting costs and reducing paper. Patientrack was developed in conjunction with health professionals and its effectiveness in delivering both patient safety and cost improvements has been proven in a peer-reviewed clinical journal.