Ready for flu: 21C uses Microsoft tools to support PCTs
The NHS has been getting ready for a possible swine flu pandemic for the best part of a year. A National Pandemic Flu Service is in place, but it needs to be supported by local measures. Microsoft partner 21C has built a Pandemic Flu manager to help. Daloni Carlisle reports.
As concern about a swine flu pandemic mounted this summer, the Department of Health (DH) set up the National Pandemic Flu Service.
The idea of the initiative was that patients affected by swine flu could get a prescription for antiviral treatment without having to visit their GP or local hospital, either by using a website or via a telephone consultation.
Armed with a code, a patient’s friends or relatives could collect the antiviral from a local collection point. There was just one problem: the system was to be administered locally by primary care trusts (PCTs) who often do not have the logistical infrastructure to manage the stock allocation.
Pandemic Manager
So, over the summer, 21C, a Microsoft Partner specialising in NHS business intelligence applications, developed a solution: Pandemic Manager.
21C can also build in a pandemic map that allows a PCT to see at a glance the rate of infection in different postcode areas.
Built on Microsoft tools, including SQL (a database) and SharePoint (a collaboration platform), it costs £15,000 and takes a day or two to implement. It has already been taken up by several PCTs, with more expected to make use of it this winter.
Daniel Wakefield, sales director at 21C says: “This is a new process for PCTs. They need a command and control solution to manage the distribution centres that hold the antivirals and allocate them to the local collection points.”
It is, he says, a very disciplined process, set out in detail in a 45-page booklet from the DH. This explains exactly what approval processes must be in place, along with a multitude of other detail to ensure a safe and reliable antiviral distribution system.
Pandemic Manager provides this command and control facility, allowing any one PCT to collaborate and report with other PCTs and distribution centres. It manages the stocks, distribution and dispensation of antivirals or vaccines, as well as patient contact and GP liaison, using a simple set of electronic forms and workflow management tools.
It also includes a suite of clinical dashboards that give healthcare professionals access to critical data for accurate analysis and reporting. “There are built in indicators so that a PCT can see if it is running low on stock,” explains Mr Wakefield.
Users can personalise their entry screen, building in up to date key performance indicator dashboards, links to other useful websites, overviews of stock and other essential information.
Task screens show users the work that is allocated to them, such as approving/rejecting a request for an antiviral. A stock control application allows users to see usual stock control information such as how demand is matching supply, what is on order, and when it will arrive. There is also a complete array of reporting and analysis tools available.
NHS Trafford takes up Pandemic Manager
21C can also build in a pandemic map that allows a PCT to see at a glance the rate of infection in different postcode areas. But, as the name Pandemic Manager suggests, this is not just a swine fu application.
Paul Henderson, managing director at 21C explains: “Our solutions are built on the Microsoft Business Intelligence software stack, providing a common platform that fits neatly into the NHS IT infrastructure.
“This BI project is not only about responding to the current pandemic but also about planning for any kind of emergency, as well as improving everyday operations such for immunisations and vaccinations.”
“This BI project is not only about responding to the current pandemic but also about mitigating the risk posed by planning for any kind of emergency, as well as improving everyday operations such for immunisations and vaccinations.”
NHS Trafford implemented Pandemic Manager in July 2009 and, if the national flu response is overwhelmed this winter, will use it to help run its own local telephone triage system.
Abdul Razzaq, director of public health, says: “We needed to replace paper flows of data between the various antiviral locations.
“These sites are scattered across the borough and require constant IT connection, so that we can understand in real-time who is coming to collect appropriate medication. Pandemic Manager will provide the solution to support this activity as part of our contingency emergency planning.
“In the event of the national flu response service suffering technical problems or being overwhelmed by the volume of inquires, we are now equipped as a local telephone flu triage unit.”
Read more:
Getting information out of different systems and pulling it together in a usable way is known as business intelligence. Microsoft has a number of tools that can be used to build business intelligence applications, such as SharePoint Server, Made for sharing: MOSS 2007 and the NHS.
NHS Wandsworth has used business intelligence to improve its childhood vaccination rates. Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is using BI tools from Microsoft to improve its performance on a range of business issues.
More about 21C:
21C builds business intelligence solutions using Microsoft’s business intelligence product stack. It has a large number of NHS and public sector clients. For more information, visit the 21C Information Management website.
The Department of Health’s National Pandemic Flu Service.