News
Diabetic retinopathy screening programme automates nationwide
reporting system
13 May 2008
The English National Screening Programme for Diabetic Retinopathy (ENSPDR),
run by the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is automating
the system of reporting from the local screening programmes across the
country.
The new system is to go live later this year with a bespoke
application called EARS built by Wiltshire-based Quicksilva Software
Solutions.
Approximately one hundred diabetic retinopathy LSPs submit annual
reports to the ENSPDR to help provide indicators of performance to
enable review of risk, service delivery and improvement. This process is
currently very time intensive as reports are submitted manually in
varying formats and the ENSPDR also has manual processes for monitoring,
recording, collating and analysing the information.
EARS will streamline and automate the reporting process, allowing
LSPs to submit their report in one of two ways — via a web interface or
by uploading an HL7v3 message with the support of the screening software
providers.
Fionna O’Leary, The National Programme Manager, commented: “Diabetic
retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that can lead to full or
partial sight loss. It is the leading cause of loss of sight in the
working age population, and registrations in the over 65 age group more
than doubled in the 10 years between the 1991 and 2001. However,
diabetic retinopathy, if caught early, can usually be treated
successfully.
"This makes it imperative to work with the local screening programmes
to highlight areas where improvements could be made or to help them
better identify those at risk. EARS will provide us with the necessary
level of automated co-ordination to streamline the yearly reporting
process, enabling data to be more easily collated and analysed. It
offers a more flexible reporting model for the LSPs and should enable
programmes to get earlier automated feedback on performance.”
EARS will provide the ENSPDR with a central software portal to
facilitate the annual collection of data, including the associated
workflow, document management and associated administrative processes.
The web interface will be built using Microsoft Sharepoint. The workflow
functionality of Sharepoint will streamline the submission of reports as
well as providing increased levels of support.
For example, when a report is currently submitted it can take time
for the local screening programme to receive feedback as input must be
manually checked. With EARS, immediate checks carried out by the system
will validate some of the key pieces of information prior to it being
submitted. If an LSP has filled in a part of the report inaccurately,
they will be notified and an example report supplied so they can see the
kind of information expected of them.
“The analysis of submitted yearly reports is an essential part of the
quality assurance process and is providing a rich source of data. We
therefore needed an application that would provide a central ‘hub’ but
also be intuitive to promote user adoption across LSPs. Quicksilva
understood our requirements from the very beginning and were able to
demonstrate in-house technical skills to enable an application from the
ground up and the ability to do so in a sufficiently flexible way to
enable the application to be developed to meet future needs,” continued
O’Leary.
In addition to utilising workflow and document management technology
from within Microsoft Sharepoint, EARS will also incorporate Windows
Server, SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange alongside a C# .NET (.NET 2
Framework) ASP.NET web application.
Gayna Hart, Managing Director, Quicksilva said: “Many NHS bodies face
a data mountain — climbing to the top of that mountain is central to
improving service delivery and providing early diagnosis. We’re
delighted to be working with the ENSPDR to help them create efficiencies
in their reporting and free up time that can be channelled into other
activities.”
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