March 06, 2017 Industry news
The Trust’s health records project secured them a place in the final three for the Award for Sustainability through Digital
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) recently collected a prize for their health records project. Their work on health records started in 2013 when they needed to make quick but efficient improvements after a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report had challenged their health records management. They implemented FIND-IT – a project that allowed them to use GS1 standards, RFID, barcodes and tags to track health records.
What followed for BHRUT was a transformational change in the way they worked - all records and locations were identified and barcoded using GS1 standards. Records are now available when and where they’re needed, and the new system has reduced the amount of time records spent out of the main file and increased filing speed. And, it’s not just made record availability easier - they’re predicting that the three year project will save them £2.4m, with 84% of this realised in the first year.
There were many other benefits, less easily measurable, such as:
- The increasingly high levels of available records, visibly improved both clinical decisions and patient experience
- Oversight of the Trust health records through improved reporting enabling visibility and performance
- Staff satisfaction improved as a result of having the right tools for the job
The awards celebrate Trusts with a forward-thinking approach to driving innovation and sustainability and we’re thrilled to see BHRUT’s work recognised in this way.