We already have a system that does bookings, how is this different?
THRIVE isn’t a booking system – it holds no patient data – THRIVE aims to provide Trusts with precise, on the day, reporting activity allowing for better list planning and greater room utilisation.
What does THRIVE offer that other systems don’t?
Through recording as little as a Procedure list and Start & End times of each you get full productivity data broken down to individual rooms. With this you can review room utilisation, average points booked and completed, time per BSG points and more.
We don’t want to waste time, how long does it take to use?
It takes 30 seconds to create a list of procedures and 5 seconds to click the Green (Start) then Red (Stop) button. We have had no long term staff issues and plenty of help guides when you are getting started. THRIVE has been designed specifically for speed of data entry meaning there is no impact on time spent in the room. Extra information such as cancellation or late start can be added with a few clicks too.
Procedures vary wildly in time taken, how can the automatically assigned points account for this?
The standardised points have been discussed in depth at multiple stages in development of THRIVE with the understanding that it is hard to predict procedure times but a baseline is expected. While standardised points provide a good estimate of procedure time we fully understand that every procedure is different and some require more time than others, with this in mind the planned points per procedure is fully customisable for every individual procedure.
How can the data collected help us?
When you can see issues more clearly, changes can be made. Improving turnaround time and combating late starts costs nothing to implement but can lead to more procedures being carried out every day. Reported situations now have supporting data based evidence allowing more credible arguments to be made to improve the way Endoscopy units are run.
What metrics does it provide?
The following are just some of the metrics we can provide in any given time frame at Room, Trust and Alliance/Network level:
- Number of lists built
- Total number of procedures completed and cancelled, sorted by type.
- Average planned and actual points including turn around times.
- Average time and points per procedure type.
- Room utilisation.
- Late start reasons and quantity
- Cancellation reasons and quantity.
Can’t we get this data from a programme we already have?
If your existing software provider doesn’t already provide our level of data and reporting they would need to develop it, a process costing thousands and taking a significant period of time (often years), both of which would directly impact vital trust funding.
So how much will THRIVE cost?
With the tariff for an Outpatient Diagnostic Colonoscopy approaching £500, providing just one extra Colonoscopy per month (which THRIVE should enable!) would provide a return on investment of over 500% per room. Specific costs are to be agreed upon contract finalisation.
What level of reporting will we receive?
Reports come in three types; Monthly, Weekly and Custom. Monthly reports come in the most detail, with a full breakdown of performance at Trust level tailored to each Trust’s needs. Weekly reports provide a helpful overview of the most important data with a side by side comparison of all trusts in a given Alliance/Network.
Custom reports can be made to provide information on any Trust specific issues such as Late Starts or Patients not attending. Finally, all data is available to view for admin level accounts – live and accurate to the second at any time on our platform.
Isn’t this a duplication of effort if we use Solus or another system?
Although you may need to replicate parts of the lists in two systems, with the speed of list building on THRIVE and the rich data provided from the stop/start tracking, we believe the benefits are worthwhile for noticing data trends across the platform.
Why should we create lists the day before?
Firstly, a more accurate representation of cancellations can be recorded.
i.e A list planned the day before, with 5 colonoscopies, is set up. In this scenario, 1 of these cancels overnight. If it was left to build the list in the morning it would likely be set up only as the 4 confirmed procedures and wouldn’t record this cancellation. Also, generating your lists in advance means that start times can be more accurate the next morning and admin does not prevent action.
Written in collaboration with David King
Directorate Manager – Dermatology, Rheumatology, Diabetes and Endocrinology
St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Originally published 27 Oct 2021 and updated 12 April 2023
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