Single point of access services
Harmoni's single point of access services manages the urgent referrals from GPs and other healthcare professionals for patients with unscheduled care needs. A single point of access service takes the administrative demands off GPs and other NHS professionals whilst ensuring patients use the most appropriate care pathway.
The most appropriate care for an urgent medical need does not necessarily have to be based in hospital. It may be based at home or in the community which can be more cost-effective than hospital based care, but importantly may be where the patient wishes to receive care, thereby improving patient experience. If there is no community based care available for the patient, the single point of access will aim to find a suitable alternative, whilst reporting gaps in service provision to commissioners to inform future commissioning intentions. Where community facilities already exist but are being under-utilised, a single point of access service helps optimise the use of these resources.
Harmoni's single point of access service model has six key components: access, assessment, signposting and booking of appointments, treatment, self management and planning.
Access
GPs and other healthcare professionals are able to access the service by telephone, e-mail or fax.
Assessment
Once received, the referral will be handled in accordance with the referring clinicians wishes,. If the referral is from a non-clinician or a clinician requiring further advice as to which is the most appropriate service to meet the needs of the patient, then a clinician will assess the referral and provide feedback to the referring clinician or healthcare professional.
A single point of access service is linked into existing local healthcare information resources such as:
• a Directory of Services (DoS)
• a Capacity Management System (CMS)
• Pathway adherence tools such as the Map of Medicine (MoM)
By tying the single point of access into these resources our clinicians and administrators know exactly which pathways have been approved and where appropriate capacity exists to meet patient need. They have the local knowledge and information needed to complete the referral on the GP's or referring healthcare professionals behalf.
Signposting and booking
Once the best pathway has been identified, the patient is booked into the appropriate care facility. We integrate with the local Choose and Book system or liaise directly with the acute booking service when making hospital appointments. If the patient is to be treated in the community, we make the booking for the patient and reconfirm again nearer the time, reducing the non-attendance rates.
Treatment
Harmoni's single point of access services ensure that patients receive the treatment that is most appropriate for their needs, avoiding a hospital admission if at all possible.
Self management
Our single point of access services ensure that patients are kept informed each step of the way, reminded of their appointments and given a point of contact for any questions or concerns. Ongoing support and information enables patients to remain in control of their own care pathway.
The single point of access service updates the clinical referrer with the outcome and continues to inform the GP practice and other supporting community teams of all relevant developments in connection with the referral.
Planning
By directing all local GP referrals through the single point of access, details of referral requirements, trends and the demands on hospital and community care services are captured. This information is reported regularly to commissioners. The provision of timely and accurate data assists managers to plan and implement the most cost effective and appropriate treatment pathways and services to meet patients' needs.
Key benefits of Harmoni's single point of access services:
• Reduction in the number of avoidable emergency admissions and length of stay in secondary care
• Provide patients with improved access to the most appropriate NHS community and secondary care services
• Deliver more affordable and better value for money NHS primary care services
• Improve GP documentation and improve pathway adherence
• Identify the gaps and any issues with community services leading to ideas for re-modelling healthcare service capacity and optimising value for patients
• Tight, documented clinical governance
• Provide full reports to the commissioner detailing referral patterns and service usage
• Allow clinicians to spend more face-to-face time with patients whilst hospital activity is reduced
Our single point of access services ensure that patients get the best care in the right place, at the right time, delivered by the right professional.