A Carbon-Neutral Future for NHS Through Digital Innovation

CASE STUDY

Going Green Means Better Patient Care and Convenience

Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) has a vision: To deliver sustainable healthcare with net zero emissions by 2040-2045. That’s a tall order for the Trust’s Community Dental Service, which provides dental care for more than 80,000 vulnerable children and adults in Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent. But MPFT believes the goal is achievable through a digital strategy, where care pathways are digitised, and patients and clinicians are connected with secure and reliable technology.

MPFT modernised its R4+ software, a Sensei product, they had used for more than 20 years, replacing paper-based diaries and clinical notes with a digital option. The R4+ system was a vast improvement at the time, making patient information faster and easier to compile and access. But even with the overhaul, paper still played a significant role: Patients had multiple documents to fill out, which were stored in their clinical record folder. This mixed paper-and-digital approach could be problematic if a patient, for example, was at one clinic but the patient’s folder was at another. Appointments would often have to be rescheduled, wasting the valuable time of patients and the clinic.

What was also challenging was the sheer volume of paper generated by the Trust’s 11 clinics, as well as the associated costs and resources. The time and effort required by the clinical staff to file and archive those medical histories was significant. And, depending on the size of the clinic, the records of active patients could fill a minimum of five filing cabinets, taking up valuable clinic floor space. Plus, MPFT’s 20-year-old on-premises system relied on heavy-duty, inefficient servers that frequently required disruptive downtime for software updates and upgrades.

MPFT had a decision to make, because this paper-heavy, energy-draining scenario did not align with the Trust’s long-term sustainability goals.

MPFT selected a cloud-hosted system from Sensei, the practice and patient management brand of Carestream Dental: Sensei Cloud, which includes a virtual waiting room component called Patient Bridge. This move would simplify patient care and management, improve system stability and deliver greater efficiency for clinicians and staff.

Engaging the Staff and Patients: The Key to Solution Success

A successful transition from a system that’s been in use for over 20 years doesn’t happen overnight. It calls for strategic planning and purposeful engagement by staff and patients. That’s why key staff members were given early access to the system before it went live. They became “super users” and acted as IT support for users who were less familiar. Sensei worked with staff to address issues as they came up to help ensure a smooth transition.

Delivering Convenience to All Patients

With Sensei Cloud and Patient Bridge, patients can complete their medical forms online prior to their appointment. Patients without this capability can use newly installed tablets to provide their information in the practice. On the rare occasion that there is physical paperwork, it is scanned into the cloud for each patient, making the information accessible from anywhere. The paperwork is then securely disposed of. This capability has saved countless miles of driving between clinics simply to drop off clinical folders.

Improving Patient Communication and Education

The move to digital has created new options for educating patients. Instead of receiving an informational booklet when patients arrive at their appointment, a digital version is emailed to them ahead of time. Patients can also access informational videos via the internet, which show them what to expect. As a result, they feel calmer about the experience and can potentially achieve a better outcome.

Reducing Paper and Printing Costs

The impact that the new solution has had on printing costs and resources has been substantial. In 12 months, MPFT eliminated the printing of 183,945 pieces of paper, which has saved 18.5 trees, £1,095 in the cost of paper and £2,822 in the cost of printing.

Continuing the Digital Journey to Net Zero

Sensei Cloud and Patient Bridge have driven improvements across the communitywide service in terms of access, engagement and outcomes. The clinics’ computing power is far more energy efficient and paper usage has shrunk significantly. As a result, the groundwork to becoming paper free and net zero has been laid. Future updates will be much easier to implement and integrate, thanks to the agility of Sensei’s cloud-based solution.

To learn more about how Sensei can support your NHS Trust, book a discovery call here.