The evidence… There were 116,000 hospital admissions for patients with COPD in England during 2013-14 costing the NHS an estimated £300 million (ref1).
Managing unscheduled COPD admissions can help reduce A&E pressures and reduce costs to CCGs, local providers and hospital trusts, as well as improving overall patient flows. A new telehealth initiative can deliver both admissions avoidance and improved self-management.
In Leicester City CCG, a pioneering approach to COPD combining telemonitoring, specialist nurse interventions and health coaching, demonstrated reduced admissions per head from 3.13 to 1.02 per year, (p<0.001) and also improved patient’s experience of care (ref 2)
The telehealth initiative, CliniTouch, uses the proven intelligent algorithm to monitor patient’s vital signs and wellbeing to pick up early symptom deterioration. This combined intervention reduced unscheduled admissions by 2/3rds with the CCG reporting net QIPP savings of £117,550 over a 12 month period2.
Additional savings to the community trust in workload and redesign efficiencies were delivered and the acute trust saw a reduction in re-admissions.
Despite the harsh winter of 2013/14 there was an overall reduction of 9.1% in all COPD admissions within the CCG during April to January 2013/14 compared with April to January 2012/132.
Multiple regression analysis revealed CliniTouch telemonitoring (Spirit Healthcare) was the only intervention that statistically significantly (P<0.05) reduced unscheduled admissions.
Publication available at http://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/10.12968/bjhc.2016.22.3.123
Testimonials
The benefits were realised across the whole health economy with Leicester Partnership Community Trust improving case load management, reducing the need for specialist nurse home visits. “This saved time travelling to patient’s homes and gave patients confidence to self-manage and avoid hospital admissions” said Debra Newton, Respiratory Nurse Specialist at Leicestershire NHS Partnership Trust.
For patients who experience frequent infections and disease exacerbation, close monitoring in their home and the skills they learnt to cope with the condition can be a lifeline.
As 56 year old COPD patient Michelle Roberts said “If it wasn’t for the CLINITOUCH programme I don’t think I would be here today”
CliniTouch Vie is now being rolled out across two additional CCGs by the trust. This multi-award winning innovative model of care (http://bit.ly/11kDTK6) has a proven framework that can easily be implemented into current service delivery.
Spirit Healthcare are currently embarking on a National Pilot Programme for CliniTouch Vie cloud-based tele-healthcare model. See website for more details www.clinitouchvie.co.uk We are looking to start 10 FREE COPD Pilot sites across CCGs, Providers and Community Providers in the UK – the largest pilot of its kind to fully test the model.
To express an interest in becoming a pilot site and for further details on the project please contact Angelina Thorne, CliniTouch Vie Marketing Manager [email protected]
Refs: 1. Health and Social Care Health Information 2015
2. Ghosh et al. Combined interventions for COPD admissions within an urban setting. British Journal of Management 2016, Vol 22. No 3 Publication available online at http://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/10.12968/bjhc.2016.22.3.123