Towards Improving Patient Hospital Experience and Clinical Operational Efficiency

Funded by Innovate UK and VisualSystems, the PI has been leading an AKT2I project on improving patients’ hospital experiences and clinical staff operational efficiency, through digitalisation and artificial intelligence. The AKT2I project has taken a holistic approach, which not only builds upon their existing products such as specialised white board, but also aims to meet longstanding demand where solutions do not exist. Through online questionnaire surveys and feedback, five specific areas have been identified through market research:
Patient Requests
Meal preference
Patient Ward Information
Possession Safe Keeping E-Checklist
Staff Ward Whiteboard tracking system

While a digital solution prototype has been created hosted under a one-stop App from the AKT2I grant, there are key challenges that hinders moving the project forward, such as lack of in-depth feedback from a more diverse pool of end-users including senior decision makers, and no quantitative approach to measure how the solution may improve efficiency. As such, both UoH and VisualSystems recognises the strong need of taking the prototype into hands of end-users, i.e., the patients and clinical staff, as an immediate next step, to solicit feedback, pinpoint areas for further development, generate impact and build long-term knowledge exchange collaborations.

A secondment supported by EPSRC-IAA, along with agreed contributions from VisualSystems, including 10% cash + £500 worth of equipment + in-kind, would enable to work in an industrial/clinical environment, while building stronger relationships with non-academic organisations, with great potentials to lead onto follow-on projects and funding opportunities. Specific benefits of the secondment include:

Extended collaboration and partnerships between UoH and VisualSystems;
New collaborations and partnerships with medical sectors;
Enhanced understanding of the needs and perspectives of stakeholders such as healthcare providers and patient groups;
Dissemination of findings through publications, presentations, and other outlets;
Increased capacity for research and development in the field of patients experience and medical operational efficiency.
To advance understanding of patient and staff experiences and pinpoint specific needs and requirement in clinical practice to inform development of next generation digital and AI technology to improve operational efficiency and patient hospital experiences, this application proposes to undertake a series of activities with the associated outcome as below:
Disseminate the App prototypes to end users, particularly to nurses and patient groups to seek feedback on design and functionality – Outcome: an App interface that gathers functions of all prototypes ready to showcase and collect feedback.
Conduct survey to help advance the understanding of patient and staff experience – Outcome: an online survey that collects feedback on App prototype.
Run a focus group workshop in NHS trust to quantify potential efficiency gain of a digital solution – Outcome: a report that summarises disruptions of daily operations under a non-digital approach
Collaborate with stakeholders, including healthcare providers, and policymakers to seek their input and feedback on the findings – Outcome: an interview survey with senior clinical management.
Conduct data analysis and interpret results to pinpoint specific needs and requirement in medical practice – Outcome: a report that summarises the findings and insights to inform next step.
Attend conferences and exhibitions related to digital and AI solutions for clinical efficiency and patient experience – Outcome: increased awareness of the latest development in the field, and expanded network with researchers and practitioners.