The challenge
Routine rates of childhood vaccinations across the UK are reducing (NHS Digital, March 2019).
The manual process of sending and collecting letters from parents and guardians means that forms are often lost or forgotten about, and completion of paper forms is low. Completed forms can also be difficult to read.
Paper forms require manual re-entry into clinical record and on the vaccination day, information is captured on paper. Both of these processes are time consuming and open to error.
There is no overall visibility of uptake across schools or the region.
Solution
Inhealthcare have worked with CHCP to develop a fully digital solution for use across all vaccinations. The service has increased efficiencies and increased vaccination uptake.
- Enables consent from parents/guardians to be gathered at speed, avoiding need for written letters to be sent home.
- Allows parents/guardians to complete an online questionnaire to capture consent and other medical information.
- Raises notifications for healthcare professionals to review
- Provides a list of eligible children for vaccines within a mobile application.
- Integrates the results back into the patient GP or community record.
- Provides alerts and lists non-responders for targeted follow up.
- Provides real time status of uptake of vaccinations within population.
Outcomes
Pre-vaccination session there was an estimated time saving for CHCP administration teams of approximately six hours per session. Having a centralised platform negated the effort spent in organising sessions per year group against the centralised cohort record.
During the vaccination session clinicians provided feedback that the use of the app aided efficient delivery.
- 50% reduction in time spent at schools for vaccination sessions.
- 4% increase in uptake in first wave at Hull schools.
Post Session the SystmOne integration negated the following effort, based on a session of just 300 children:
- Manual updating of records, absence, illness, refusals – 1 hour (Clinician).
- Contacting patients – 0.5hrs (Clinician).
- Bulk upload time – 3hrs (Admin).
- Scanning and attaching of existing paper forms – 4hrs (Admin).
- Travel and associated costs with returning to base.