OPTIMAL - Optimisation of Discharge Mechanism for the Prevention of Unnecessary Readmissions

Accident & Emergency hospital admissions are one of the largest costs in the NHS today. OPTIMAL will provide an integrated decision support software tool which will aid in optimising patients’ discharge and follow up processes, especially during the first month after discharge, with a clear goal to reduce readmissions by 5% within the first year of its installation and improve the process by means of patient satisfaction. In particular, OPTIMAL will provide an intelligent and structured discharge process driven by a software platform which will aid in the adherence and enforcement of post-discharge guidelines. The project will analyse the historical admission data available to the Croydon NHS Trust and build two simple to use applications for NHS staff and patients, both in the acute and community setting. Integral part of the applications will be a decision support and alerts mechanism, designed according the findings of the data analysis, which will support NHS staff and patients during these specific stages of the healthcare pathway.