A new University of Bristol-led project aims to ease pressure on the NHS by developing an artificial intelligence (AI) model to predict and reduce a patient's risk of readmission to hospital.
The project, led by researchers at Bristol and the BNSSG Integrated Care Board, will look at ways to improve how patients move through the health system.
Researchers will analyse routinely collected hospital data to shed light on what happens when patients leave hospital to enable evidence-based conversations between health and social care professionals and patients on post-discharge support.
The 'Improving Patient Outcomes with Discharge Decision Support' (IPODDS) is one of two new studies aiming to design better pathways for patients leaving hospital.
The second study, led by researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Bath and the BNSSG Integrated Care Board, will use computer modelling to simulate hospital discharge pathways for patients with complex needs.
In this 'Improving Patient Flow between Acute, Community and Social Care' (IPACS project, the software tool, which is already in use in BNSSG, will be rolled out across health systems in the South West. It will help hospital managers estimate things like bed occupancy, the number of patients with a discharge delay, the number of days waiting for discharge and total system costs.
From March, both projects will use data held within the new NHS Secure Data Environment for the South West. These two pilot projects are the first to use the platform, which is being developed to the highest security standards.
Secure Data Environments, or SDEs, are online platforms for accredited researchers to safely analyse sensitive data for approved projects. NHS England is funding development of 11 regional Secure Data Environments.
SDEs are an innovative and transparent approach to conducting research, while maximising privacy and security. Data held in SDEs is depersonalised. This means any personally identifiable information, such as names, addresses and NHS numbers, is removed before the researcher accesses it.
Dr Rachel Denholm, Research Lead for the South West SDE and Epidemiologist and Health Service Researcher at Bristol Medical School, said: "I am delighted that the South West SDE is getting off the ground with these two pilot projects. The deeper understanding of complex discharge pathways and decision making that they will bring could help reduce waiting lists in the region in the longer term.
"These two projects are great examples of the kind of important research that NHS SDEs will enable. Without being able to look at data across the system, this kind of analysis just wouldn't be possible. We hope they demonstrate what's possible and the benefits the South West SDE can bring."
Please visit the South West Secure Data Environment website
