From the Inside: How E-Triage is Revolutionising NHS Referrals

Nigel Uwins, former Assistant Director IT at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, shares insights from 18 months of E-Triage and how one trust is dramatically improving RTT compliance.

From NHS digital transformation experience

As a former Assistant Director IT at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Nigel Uwins has witnessed first-hand the challenges and opportunities in NHS digital transformation. With 18 months of real-world data from implementing advanced referral management, his insights show how trusts can significantly improve both patient outcomes and performance metrics.

The hidden crisis

Treating the patient in the most appropriate setting for their medical issues has always been seen as best for the patient, but up to 30% of GP referrals to secondary care are shown to be inappropriate or incorrect, or do not take place. A more effective referral and triage process will mean fewer patients having to attend secondary care when there are more effective clinical pathways for them. In turn, this will mean fewer referrals and a higher percentage of patients meeting the 18-week pathway target.

The missing link

But more is needed. Effective GP to specialist communication helps identify which patients need specialist care, and where. Managing GP Advice and Guidance (A&G) requests in a timely and effective way is another means of identifying which patients need a referral to secondary care.

18 months later: the results

Toca.health has a solution, E-Triage, designed by clinicians to manage referrals (and A&G) in secondary care. “They’ve been running it at RBFT for about 18 months now and one outcome is that they are now managing the RTT pathways much more effectively,” explains Nigel. “Whilst the E-Triage application can’t take full credit for this, the ability to only accept suitable referrals added to the fact that accepted referrals are automatically loaded into their EPR (providing a consistent pathway start for all specialities) means that E-Triage has had a significant impact on their performance and on data quality.”

The outcome

“If clinical pathways are started quickly, appropriately, and automatically after a clinical triage assessment, then you will improve your data quality and increase RTT compliance,” concludes Nigel.

Referral reform has never been more critical.

Want to know more about E-Triage? Visit toca.health, email sales@toca.io, or follow Toca on LinkedIn.