This document gives you an overview of the following:
In conjunction with Imperial College London and University College London, Dr Foster Intelligence has developed the HUM system that enables Primary Care Trusts and GP practices to access up-to-date information via the web and to conduct their own analyses to generate lists of potential patients who are, or may become, high-impact users of secondary care services. The system identifies patients with conditions where hospitalisation is considered at least partially preventable.
Dr John Billings from New York University has used Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) type data to identify 'preventable / avoidable hospitalisations' and has developed a list of Ambulatory Care Sensitive (ACS) conditions. ACS conditions are those where timely and effective ambulatory care and good case-management can help to prevent the need for hospitalisation:
Using the monthly data submitted by Acute Trusts to the HES database and methodologies developed by Dr Foster Intelligence, analyses and patient lists can be rapidly generated by a PCT or GP practice.
The sensitivity of the analyses can be adjusted and the data drilled down to the individual patient record with a summary of their history of admissions and the associated costs.
All data is anonymous to ensure patient confidentiality. However, when identifying individual patient records the system releases sufficient information to allow you to track the patient on your PAS system using your unique Patient Identifier.
Whilst there are algorithms available that can help you to begin to identify potential high-impact users, the predictive power and speed of this system enables nurses and practice managers to quickly identify the patient groups and individual patients at risk and begin to focus their efforts on case-management rather than data-analysis.
HUM costs just 15p per head of population. There are no installation costs and you will have full access to the tool within 5 working days of payment. There are no hidden costs and training and support is offered in the form of an online tutorial, a user guide and access to the Knowledge Base - our unique online customer support forum. There is also a customer support line.
The data is that which has been submitted by Trusts to NWCS and the HES database. It is updated on the 23rd day of each month.
Access to Dr Foster Intelligence's web-based systems can be via any computer with internet access either office or home-based. The data is stored on secure servers with 128 bit encryption and cannot be accessed without knowing the URL and having the appropriate username and password.
In terms of compatibility, all users require browser capabilities of version 5.5 or higher and ideally IE6. JavaScript must also be enabled and cookies allowed.
On commencement of the service, Dr Foster Intelligence will release one username and password to the trust or practice which will have full system administrator rights. The addition of new users to the system or the reset of passwords is then the responsibility of the administrator. There is no limit to the number of users within the contracted organisation, although passwords must not be provided to users outside the organisation without Dr Foster Intelligence's written permission.
We can confirm that, through the Dr Foster Unit at Imperial College, we have in place all the appropriate confidentiality and security systems and procedures to support the research and data analysis work using databases containing patient identifiable information. We have a thorough understanding of the legal and ethical issues and requirements, reflected in several years' experience of using such data. The Dr Foster Unit at Imperial has access to the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Wide Clearing Service (NWCS) and Office of National Statistics (ONS) data sets. The Unit has the appropriate permissions from the Patient Information Advisory Group (PIAG) for the support of section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act (2001), which allows us to publish healthcare performance information to both the public and to healthcare professionals. In addition, the Unit has permission to hold and use this data from the Security and Confidentiality Advisory Group (SCAG) of the Department of Health and the Micro Data Committee of the Office of National Statistics. Local Regional Ethics Committee (LREC) approval for the use of HES data has also been secured.
In the handling of all information Dr Foster Intelligence is bound by a Code of Conduct. This is overseen by the Dr Foster Ethics Committee which has the power to ensure Dr Foster Intelligence meets the standards laid down in the Code. In collecting information from NHS organisations, Dr Foster Intelligence is additionally bound by the terms of a protocol agreed with the Department of Health.
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