News
GPs should use healthcare simulation to make commissioning decisions
28 July 2010
With the changes to the NHS announced in the recent health
White Paper, GPs have to form groups that will get control of budgets
for commissioning secondary care. SIMUL8 Corporation believes that GPs
will find simulation software essential in enabling them to commission
services, and is offering them access to simulation software and free
training.
Claire Cordeaux, Lead for Healthcare from SIMUL8 Corporation said,
“We’ve worked with over 100 PCTs and their stakeholders to successfully
implement service redesign programs with simulation technology resulting
in better patient care and we’re happy to be extending access to this
technology to GPs.”
SIMUL8 Corporation, in conjunction with the NHS Institute for
Innovation and Improvement, introduced their healthcare simulation and
modelling tool, Scenario Generator, to over 85% of the PCTs in NHS
England in 2008, providing training and support to managers — some of
whom had no prior knowledge of simulation techniques.
Using Scenario Generator, the PCTs built up the skills necessary to
create and test alternative models of patient care in a virtual, risk
free environment. This allows PCTs to have a complete picture when
balancing budgets against patient care as they can forecast the impact
these changes would have on various key factors like, waiting times,
costs, and bed capacity, years into the future.
Bedfordshire PCT, for example, used Scenario Generator to create a
virtual health system that quickly tested out ideas for improving their
efficiency and saving money without compromising on quality of patient
care. During initial analysis the organisation demonstrated that, when
applied across the whole of England, around £166m could be saved in
direct financial costs to the NHS by shifting treatment of dermatology
from hospital outpatient departments into the community.
Dr Nick Gaunt, Lead on Technology, Modelling and Simulation from the
NHS Institute of Innovation, helped to roll out Scenario Generator
across NHS England and is an advocate of the technology. Dr Gaunt said,
“Through our work with PCTs we have seen the significant benefits that
simulation technology can bring to planning and decision making, and we
would like GPs to feel they can benefit from this technology too.”
|