Delivering better care
Posted: - 4th November 2019
Doc Abode is a multi-award-winning software platform, which improves workforce capacity and resilience in out-of-hour and primary care settings. The Doc Abode platform enables real-time clinician deployment, safely connecting a multi-disciplinary clinical workforce to NHS patient needs based on availability, proximity and expertise. It provides clinicians with an alternative to shift-based work which leads to the delivery of better care, improved patient experience and reduced costs to the NHS.
How we helped
We have worked closely with Doc Abode since it joined the AHSN’s Proof of Concept programme in 2015. The programme supported the company with regulatory compliance, market analysis, and the building of an early prototype of the platform. We also supported pathway modelling to indicate where Doc Abode could have the most potential in relieving bottlenecks in the system. We were supportive of Doc Abode’s application to the Small Business and Research Initiative (SBRI) ‘General Practice of the Future’ competition in 2016 which allowed the company to undertake further development of the platform and make it robust enough for national scale.
In 2017 an independent academic evaluation by the University of Bradford measured the outcomes achieved through utilising the Doc Abode platform. Doc Abode performance was compared against a control group and was shown to improve the NQR (National Quality Requirement) performance for reaching patients within a set time frame by between 10% and 20%.
The outcome
Following the successful trial of Doc Abode in Local Care Direct (LCD), the out-of-hours provider for West Yorkshire, the platform is now being rolled out on a wider scale with LCD, with a view to transforming the existing workforce model for urgent care in the region.
In March 2019, Doc Abode won the HSJ Partnership Award for ‘Best Workforce Innovation Award’ with Yorkshire & Humber AHSN and Local Care Direct. The innovation also received a ‘Top Tech: Yorkshire’ award in 2018 and a special recognition award in the ‘Digital Enterprise Top 100’ in 2019.
I couldn’t have made it this far without the support of the Yorkshire & Humber AHSN. Its support initially set me off in the right direction and its continuing support has been truly amazing.
