Waiting lists across Scotland continue to remain a challenge, particularly for cancer patients where speed is of the essence. 

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has taken major steps to ensure its patients are treated fast and in clinical priority order.  

A new cancer tracking solution is revolutionising ways of working in cancer teams at both NHS Highland and NHSGGC.

Behind this tracking solution is the advanced, Unified Data Layer of the Insource Patient Pathway Plus (PP+) solution. 

Data needed to streamline patient care is all too often locked away in disparate IT systems across the care landscape.  

Insource brings the capability to collect all this data together, in one place, validate it to ensure data accuracy, and standardise it so it can be compared like-with-like, then make it available to clinicians, managers and administrators for informed care.

Importantly, this transforms the management of cancer patients from a reactive to a proactive service. 

The PP+ solution is not imposed from the top down but has been designed to grow from the ground up and complements – and then gradually replaces – outdated legacy cancer management systems. 

With both Scottish health boards realising immediate benefits from PP+, cancer services have been revitalised and they are continuing to work with Insource to develop the system, with new data sets (eg pathology and radiology results) being brought into the Unified Data Layer all the time.

Data-led cancer management

The patient tracking solution was first developed with NHS Highland, where the Insource collaboration has delivered a purpose-built proactive, service-led solution that helps up to 450 operational and clinical staff work together to streamline care and speedily identify next steps. 

As we know, in cancer, speed to accurate diagnosis and treatment is the route to successful outcomes. 

PP+ visualises all cancer pathways by tumour types, key milestones, last known events, planned next steps, treatment types, locations… and, perhaps most importantly, gives immediate visibility of any delays and highlights where there are capacity challenges in the pathway.

Aimed at minimising stress for patients, this solution brings real-time care and process data to frontline staff. It gives a visible portrayal for the management of all patients through their cancer journey and their statutory milestones.  

It also provides a full operational tool to distributed cancer teams across Highland, Argyll and Bute and now Greater Glasgow and Clyde and will help save hundreds of hours in ad hoc and manual statutory reporting.  

Insource PP+ for Cancer Tracking puts the patient at the heart of the cancer care process. And following the significant improvements at NHS Highland, NHSGGC has from day one realised significant improvements, efficiencies and savings.

Seeing the huge and immediate improvements that having the Insource Unified Data Layer has given to both NHS Highland and NHSGGC, several other health boards are now in conversation with Insource. 

For boards who are struggling with cancer patient management there are massive and proven improvements waiting to be made. And the PP+ solution itself, with Insource and the boards working in close collaboration, is improving all the time with a roadmap for development based on feedback from health boards and NHS Scotland.

Solid foundations for the future of cancer patient management have been laid by these two trailblazing health boards. 

With NHSGGC being a tertiary cancer centre, there is now the opportunity to manage cancer pathways across health board boundaries with regional working and shared reporting. 

At a regional level there is no need to conceive or re-design new systems. Another health board, or another region, is just more data being brought into the Unified Data Layer where PP+ is ready for consistent aggregation to regional or national level.

Health boards no longer need to review retrospectively how cancer targets were missed. A proactive patient-centred approach is available for the taking, and the possibilities for improvement – by having a single source of the truth, the Unified Data Layer – are just being realised. 

Partner Content in association with Insource www.insource.co.uk