The partnership, which will see us supply a variety of digital solutions to NHS organisations all over the country, is the latest step in a trusted relationship that has already spanned several decades. It will also be key to accelerating the ongoing digital transformation of the health service, one of the world’s greatest and most-loved public institutions.

Personally speaking, it is something of which I am extremely proud. Microsoft’s work with the NHS is genuinely helping to improve people’s lives. Since the start of the pandemic, for example, the roll out of Microsoft Teams across the organisation saved NHS employees around 17 million hours of productive time, allowing them to concentrate on dealing with the extraordinary levels of demand for healthcare instead.

Today’s partnership announcement could not be more timely. As we celebrate the NHS’s 75^th anniversary, it faces some of the greatest challenges in its history: record waiting lists; soaring inflation; an aging population; and chronic staff shortages. Microsoft’s digital technologies can – and must – contribute to easing these pressures by increasing productivity, supporting collaboration and mitigating security threats.

A lighter load

In short, we must help equip the NHS to thrive in a digital-first world, enabling it to deliver high quality services to patients more quickly, efficiently and equitably.

Using the Microsoft cloud to automate processes is a great place to start as the more we can do to lighten healthcare professionals’ administrative load and alleviate the pressures on their time, the more they can focus on doing what they do best: caring for patients.

As well as freeing up staff from repetitive tasks and unnecessary meetings, automation can also help streamline the process of onboarding for new clinicians, while cloud technologies reduce the need for capital investment in on-premises infrastructure, generating further savings for the NHS that can be redirected to patient care.

Collaboration empowered

The impact on patients’ experiences should be equally transformative. Whether it’s at their GP surgery, on the wards or in a specialist hospital, people want and expect their interactions with the NHS to be joined-up.

Microsoft’s digital technologies can help make that happen, giving staff from across different NHS departments and geographical locations the power to connect and collaborate on the delivery of truly integrated care services.

Imagine nurses overseeing bed and capacity management, for example. By using Teams, they can build a 360-degree view of patient requirements, share operational documents instantly and communicate any changes and updates with each other at speed.

A securer future

Microsoft technologies can also help solve another of the health service’s most pressing concerns: cybersecurity. The volume of data and personal information held by the NHS is greater than ever and the positive side of this is that it enables better, more connected treatment for patients.

However, it is also intensifies the security risk, especially with criminals becoming ever more sophisticated and frequent in their attacks. The financial, operational and societal costs of an NHS cyber breach could undoubtedly be significant and damaging.

In 2021, Microsoft committed to investing $20 billion in security over the next five years to continue protecting our customers around the world. Today’s agreement will enable Microsoft to continue to work with NHS England and Local NHS Organisations, developing the required access to a comprehensive suite of security solutions to protect their people, data and assets. These include threat protection, data governance and compliance solutions that will continue to bolster the health service’s cyber resilience going forward.

Proud history, ambitious future

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. And nowhere is this more important than in the world of healthcare. One of our company’s most important achievements was the assistance we gave to the NHS during the pandemic, ensuring GP practices, NHS organisations and national bodies could keep their systems running and their people working together at a time of unprecedented national need.

We have also worked closely with NHS IT staff to accelerate the digital transformation of its systems faster than was ever believed possible and continue to support the much-needed shift towards the remote delivery of key elements of the patient journey. Read more about the different elements of our longstanding NHS partnership.

Yet while we are proud of those achievements so far, what really matters is what’s next. The health service once again finds itself facing widespread transformation and reform alongside the ever-present challenge of improving outcomes while limiting costs. Now more than ever, we must look to technology as a way to maximise the time NHS staff have for care and to, ultimately, deliver better experiences for patients. On the path to a digital future, Microsoft is committed to helping the NHS every step of the way.

Find out more

Maximising time to care: accelerating NHS digital achievements, at scale

NHS makes data more discoverable using Azure Cognitive Search to save clinicians’ time

vCreate & Microsoft Azure connects patients with their families and clinical teams

About the author

Jacob leads Microsoft’s UK local government, healthcare and life sciences business.

A former adviser to two UK Prime Ministers, Jacob has worked in healthcare locally, nationally and internationally, in the NHS and overseas.

Jacob was the Harkness Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London’s Public Policy Institute.

The post Maximising the time for care in the NHS appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Previously, we explored how data sharing will help ICSs to level up their care. We looked at how improving collaboration and proliferating best practice will ensure all individuals – regardless of their circumstances – can access the highest quality services. Now, we’ll look at the role of technology in underpinning collaboration and in driving more joined-up, effective care.

Capitalising on collaboration

Do you remember when health and care providers were strongly encouraged to compete with each other for business? Anyone in the NHS will appreciate this was at best a double-edged sword. Competition incentivises individual provider organisations to improve their services and gives patients more choice. However, it can also lead to poor coordination, duplication of effort and wasted resources. Striking a balance is key.

Collaboration has been a priority for the NHS since the Five Year Forward View was published in 2014. It was also underlined more recently in The Long Term Plan. But COVID-19 threw it into sharp relief. With unprecedented demand—and limited finances—siloed competition was no longer a viable option. The sheer scale of the task called for a collective response. Health and care providers shifted their focus towards more collaboration. Leveraging technology at the same time to facilitate collaboration and improve outcomes for local communities.

Louise Robson, Chief Executive Lead for Provider Collaboration across the North of England, puts it best:

“The collaborative response of trusts working together to deal with the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 gave a tantalising glimpse of the potential achievements that could be realised by working at scale.”

COVID-19 is just one of the many challenges the NHS has been facing lately. But it has shown that successfully levelling up communities is without doubt a shared endeavour.

Levelling up begins with integration

This is where Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) come in. They bring together NHS, local councils and voluntary organisations, as well as wider delivery partners. ICSs seek to unlock the full potential of collaboration and provide better services to all. Early signs are promising. According to a survey by the NHS Confederation: “90 percent of system leaders believe they have been able to improve joint working quite or very effectively.”

ICSs are not a silver bullet, though. There is significant variance between different areas and complex relationships to negotiate. Many regions, such as the South East, have large numbers of NHS providers and multiple local authorities. They all must find ways to work together effectively. As the NHS Confederation notes: “Ultimately the success of systems (as with many healthcare reforms) will rely most on the kind of culture that develops between partners.”

Technology drives collaboration

How can health and care providers establish clear lines of communication, responsibility and accountability, both within and between each ICS? And, crucially, how can they provide the kind of care that truly levels up communities?

There remains much to work out, but one thing is certain: Technology will be essential.

Microsoft was proud to support health and care providers during COVID-19. Microsoft Teams, in particular, proved invaluable. By enabling collaborative and remote working, we helped staff to improve safety and productivity. They were able to deliver essential services to the people who needed them the most.

Collaboration allows the care team to optimise resources and solve problems together. But there are many other ways in which technology can help health and care professionals to work together more effectively.

For instance, patient monitoring, supported by Internet of Things (IoT) devices and analytics, ensures that staff are aware of their patients’ needs, and can coordinate and escalate their involvement accordingly. When organised into virtual wards, these technologies allow staff to deliver safe, effective and efficient care while allowing patients to remain in the comfort of their own homes.

But the value of technology extends beyond any one service. It’s a cultural enabler. By promoting a sense of belonging to a single organisation, ICSs can realise their vision of collective leadership and joined up care.

In this spirit of collaboration, ICSs can share their insights on the use of technology to help level up other ICSs. For example, the latest best practice developed in South West London ICS can be quickly translated across all London ICSs and beyond. In this way, whole regions—indeed, the whole nation—can improve their care.

From survival mode to sustainable modernisation

Microsoft played a vital role during COVID-19. And we’re committed to continue supporting your organisation to transform quickly in an agile, collaborative and people-focussed way.

Truly integrated care can only happen when health and care organisations can collaborate seamlessly. As a strategic partner, we can help you pursue long-term transformation. One based on integration and collaboration. And one that puts people at the centre of everything you do.

Find out more

Data-led foundation for unrivalled patient care

About the author

Umang is a Chief Clinical Information Officer at Microsoft with a passion for ensuring that technology delivers its full potential and value in healthcare. He is also a practising NHS paediatrician and has a background working across multiple sectors covering both payors and providers. Umang was a foundational member of start-up Babylon Health which had a successful IPO in 2021 on the New York Stock Exchange. With Microsoft, Umang is helping shape the digital transformation in health across the UK which is aiming for better outcomes through seamless integration and innovation. 

The post Part 2: The role of technology in helping communities to level up appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Sometimes it takes a crisis to fully grasp an opportunity. Virtual wards were invented in the early 2000’s by Dr Geraint Lewis, now Director of Population Health at Microsoft. Despite that, it’s only in the last few years that they have taken the NHS by storm. Virtual wards help reduce hospital admissions, keep patients safer, and discharge them earlier in collaboration with social care where appropriate.

Watford General Hospital was an early adopter. They use remote monitoring technology to monitor patients’ symptoms and physiological parameters such as heart rate, level of oxygen saturation and temperature. Their app-based model proved overwhelmingly popular with staff and patients alike. In a survey conducted on behalf of the NHSE, 95 percent of patients found the application easy to use and 93 percent were pleased with the remote care service.

See virtual wards in action: NHSE Director of Digital Care Models Tara Donnelly shared a video showing how remote monitoring technologies supported over 78,000 people across England between November 2020 and May 2021.

Widespread remote care is closer than you think

COVID-19 may have been the catalyst, but the long-term potential of harnessing remote technology is clear. By the end of 2021, over 53 virtual wards were providing over 2,500 ‘beds’ nationwide. They support people with a range of conditions. From acute respiratory infections to urinary tract infections and chronic pulmonary disease to more complex presentations, such as people living with frailty.

The NHS is now spending up to £450 million to create at least 25,000 virtual ward beds over the next few years. They help increase capacity, efficiency and safety. Additionally, virtual wards allow health and care providers to: “Fully exploit remote monitoring technology and wider digital platforms to deliver effective and efficient care,” according to the latest operational and planning guidance from the NHS. 

At Microsoft, we’re helping health and care providers harness technology to bring the hospital ward into the home. For example, the staff at Kendal Care Home in Cumbria have been using Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 and Microsoft Teams. This allows GPs to speak to and assess elderly residents in a COVID-safe way—something they’ve celebrated as a “game changer”.

Virtual wards: A hospital in every home?

There’s a reason why hospitals the world over are organised into wards. Now imagine making use of all the systems, staffing and daily routines of a hospital ward—developed and improved over decades—but in the patient’s home. That’s the power of a virtual ward. The point is that remote monitoring and communication technology are essential but not sufficient. To provide safe and effective care, you must apply these technologies within a robust framework. That’s why virtual wards mirror the structures and processes of their real-world counterparts, while replicating several core functions digitally.

Any virtual ward must include:

• Admission process—an easy to follow, step-by-step process to onboard new patients remotely.
• “Call bell” system—patients can call for help via a video conferencing and messaging app. There’s also failsafe backup arrangements in place.
• Regular observations—remote monitoring allows clinicians to keep an eye on each patient’s vital stats. Differing from patient to patient, these may include blood pressure, temperature, pulse, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate etc.
• Tests—patients can conduct blood, urine and other routine tests. These can be uploaded remotely under guidance from clinicians where required.
• Medicines—patients should receive instructions and prompts about which medicines to take, at what time, and can confirm what they’ve taken.
• Ward rounds—video conferencing enables a virtual ward team to review patients face-to-face
• Board rounds—remote whiteboard and productivity tools enable a virtual ward team to quickly review all the patients under their care
• Escalation—a streamlined process moves patients to a real hospital if their condition deteriorates.
• Engaging the support network—extend communication channels to friends and family and formal carers.
• Discharge process—a system for patients to leave their virtual ward and return to the care of their GPs.

Aside from the high level of care coordination, one of the main reasons why virtual wards are so popular with patients is all the above can be done while they sleep in their own beds—and enjoy their own food!

The potential of virtual wards is clear for all to see. At Microsoft, we’re excited to see how remote care evolves. Also, we’re proud to play a key role in supporting the nationwide roll out.

Find out more

Find out more about Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare

About the author

Umang is a Chief Clinical Information Officer at Microsoft with a passion for ensuring that technology delivers its full potential and value in healthcare. He is also a practising NHS paediatrician and has a background working across multiple sectors covering both payors and providers. Umang was a foundational member of start-up Babylon Health which had a successful IPO in 2021 on the New York Stock Exchange. With Microsoft, Umang is helping shape the digital transformation in health across the UK which is aiming for better outcomes through seamless integration and innovation. 

The post Virtual wards, real world benefits appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

I think this is true. There are always going to be more patients. But as recent times have shown, there’s hardly ever going to be enough of everything else.

The last two years has certainly exacerbated this situation. Backlogs of patients requiring care have multiplied dramatically. We’ve essentially lost two years’ worth of elective treatment. And waiting lists are worse than ever.

Despite this, I’m actually optimistic. We’ve known that we would have to face up to these challenges eventually. The pandemic has significantly brought them forward, but we’ve also learnt a lot about ourselves over the last few years.

It is a fact of life that demand for healthcare will grow faster than our supply of doctors and nurses. As a result, we must be open to how technology can help.

What’s interesting, however, is that a lot of the challenges that we didn’t know how to answer have already been by necessity. We didn’t know if people would use their phones and various technology to interact with healthcare. But they have and it’s not been anywhere near as problematic as we thought.

In other words, it turns out that technology is much further along than we thought it would be for our sector.

More importantly, we can now much more confidently use it to deal with more current and future issues. We can tackle key problems such as clearing waiting lists, improving time management and more.

The importance of looking at the bigger picture

I may be Chief Clinical Information Officer at Microsoft, but I’m also a paediatrician. Spending my Fridays at the children’s hospital is still my favourite part of the week. This is where I get to really see life on the shop floor. As a result, I can help find the digital solutions to help improve it.

And the inspiration can really come from anywhere. For example, at the hospital we use an orange, lever arch folder where we store all the relevant information about a patient; tests we’ve run, follow-ups and more.

One time the orange folder broke. There was panic, because we didn’t have another ‘orange’ folder to replace it (we only had black ones). We ended up having to order a new one online.

Now, the beauty of my job is not just finding a solution to this particular – and relatively small – issue. But to solve them on a much broader scale. Replacing the orange folder shouldn’t be the end goal. There are so many other parts of that system that we cannot just improve but transform for the better.

Using the cloud to stay agile in healthcare

One of the big issues we’ve always had in healthcare is that there’s always another revolution coming, another update or digital initiative that needs to be actioned.

To prevent the inevitable fatigue that comes from lots of change, we need to ensure everything we are doing is scalable and fit for the future. I believe that the answer to this is the cloud. We’re never going to be able to implement all of this if we do it as a small step. The last two years have shown us that we need to take some big steps. Cloud technology gives us just that. Combine that with Microsoft’s suite of CRM apps, like Dynamics 365, and we will be able to deliver patients with specific information, send them personalised advice and engage with them more.

Just look at the work we’re doing with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. They have moved their entire electronic record to the cloud. This has given them functionalities and scale that will serve them well into the future.

Leeds covers one and a half million patients. They’ve got about 20,000 staff and the sheer number of electronic forms that they must process has grown by 300,000 since 2015. That’s hundreds of thousands more forms that patients and caregivers are filling in. Additionally, they then need to be processed. It would be a nearly impossible task if they hadn’t just moved it all to the Azure cloud.

Beyond making them far more scalable this has also helped them to use their extra computing elsewhere. And therefore, to do things such as keeping track of data, analyse it and review it for any future needs.

Simplifying processes and consultations via Teams

Another technology that’s proving key in solving backlogs is Microsoft Teams.

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust caregivers lead the way in this respect. They carry out virtual consultations that allow patients to utilise teams for clinical interactions.

This has double benefits. On one hand, it allows caregivers to visit their patients without having them come to the clinic. On the other, it gives patients greater visibility of their appointments. Additionally, they can reschedule without having to go through back-and-forth calls.

I have learned the pains of contacting patients through regular phones the hard way. For privacy reasons, the NHS forbids us to leave voicemails to patients, unless that person has a message that states who they are. Whilst understandable, this is a rather outdated policy as now no one picks up a private callers’ phone and too few people check their voicemail.

Wouldn’t it be great if we were able to start saying to our patients directly during the consultation: I’m going to send you a link for you to have the next appointment. However, even better than that they can choose a time that works best and it will automatically go into both our calendars.

And if you need to change it, you can do that online without wasting time with inefficient telephone calls.

Managing resources though Power Apps

Another brilliant way to use technology to clear backlogs and waiting times is using data and data-centric low and no code solutions.

We all obsess about this ability to try and find the right data and then be able to use it meaningfully to achieve better patient outcomes. With the help of cloud technology, organisations are increasingly shifting towards huge data centres. Here, they can analyse data in real time and use it to make decisions and forecast, identify patterns and much more.

Just look at the extraordinary work by the Northern Care Alliance. They use Microsoft Power Apps to get continuous, real-time updates on the state of beds and bays at their facilities.

In operation since before the pandemic, this solution turned out to be a game changer during the tough months of lockdowns, when the status of wards and beds would evolve constantly. Thanks to the solution, staff at the Northern Care Alliance were able to check availability on real-time dashboards and allocate available beds in a much more efficient way.

Driving digital modernisation in healthcare

The most amazing thing about the NHS is that it’s simply the world’s biggest team. Every person working within it is there to look after patients and is committed to doing things better.

If we can use technology to let this huge team be more efficient and work better together, we’ll really be able to help clear the backlog and relieve staff of all the simple repetitive tasks that frustrate them and get in the way of treating patients.

Organisations often ask me how they can start this much-needed digital modernisation in the most effective way.

My advice is to simply start off by looking around you. See what other organisations are doing, and then pick up the phone and find out how they got started and what is going well. Also keep an open mind. In my experience, there is always a group of people that will remain negative. But don’t be discouraged by that – once you get started, you’ll be surprised at how quickly momentum can build and what seemed implausible becomes routine.

Lastly, make sure that you set and over-communicate your goals. Embracing new technologies will help empower all caregivers to achieve more – freeing them to spend more time caring for patients and leading to better outcomes. Plus, you’ll be making sure the foundations are strong for continued innovation, ensuring healthcare is fit for the future.

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Find out more

 Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare

The transformation imperative in healthcare

The Digital Healthcare Playbook

Healthcare Delivery Cloud Solutions

About the author

Umang is a Chief Clinical Information Officer at Microsoft with a passion for ensuring that technology delivers its full potential and value in healthcare. He is also a practising NHS paediatrician and has a background working across multiple sectors covering both payors and providers. Umang was a foundational member of start-up Babylon Health which had a successful IPO in 2021 on the New York Stock Exchange. With Microsoft, Umang is helping shape the digital transformation in health across the UK which is aiming for better outcomes through seamless integration and innovation. 

The post Using technology to manage the healthcare backlog appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

For a long time, the exchange of this highly critical medical information has happened via paper-based forms. An ambulance crew would fill out a form and then pass it to the A&E team when they arrived at the hospital. This increasingly outdated system is prone to delays – the information cannot be transmitted in advance – thereby putting the patient’s health at further risk.

Today, these and many other processes can be digitalised and automated simply and effectively with no/low-code apps. Quick, easy to use and develop, these business apps are becoming the answer to healthcare’s constantly evolving requirements.

Together with our partner Akari Solutions, we recently developed an app for an NHS service specialised in treating strokes and managing stroke referrals. Using Microsoft Power Apps, Akari helped them build a solution that allows medical professionals to fill out digital forms with patient data. Then, they share it directly with the specialist centre. As a result, they can follow the patient wherever they are in their treatment journey.

This is only one of many examples of organisations turning to no/low-code applications and automation to manage current and future challenges. It’s also something that we have been actively engaged in over the past few years – helping the NHS improve operational efficiency and patient experience with simple yet cutting-edge technology. Here’s how we’re doing it.

The importance of delivering patient-focussed services

The past two years have been incredibly challenging for the UK healthcare sector, but they’ve also catalysed much needed digital transformation. Faced with new issues such as lockdowns and long-standing ones such as reduced capacity, an ageing population and increasing clinician burnout, the NHS has been forced to rethink many of the ways it operates.

To ensure that healthcare staff spend as much time as possible with their patients, we’ve seen the health service realise the importance of modernising processes, putting greater emphasis on efficiency and resource optimisation, as well as automating manual tasks.

Technology and patient engagement are – now more than ever – intrinsically tied. NHS organisations are increasingly turning to digital solutions to ensure continuity of care and a seamless experience for all.

This digital transformation entails both giving patients greater access to data, but also helping care teams make better use of their time. The importance of thorough record-keeping and the complexity of modern medicine puts pressure on the time that doctors can spend with their patients. In some parts of the NHS, this issue is exacerbated by outdated hardware and by non-interoperable systems. Sometimes, doctors have to log into 20 or more different systems per day. That leaves the workforce under even more pressure and paves the way for further inefficiencies.

Luckily, this is where no/low-code applications and automation technology can help.

Turning the tide with no/low code applications and automation platforms

With business applications like Microsoft’s Power Apps, NHS organisations can create highly cost-effective, quick and simple solutions that can cater to their many needs.

Using these applications, NHS staff can create bespoke solutions using low amounts of coding (or even no coding at all). They’re easy to build, manage and scale. In addition, the drag-and-drop functionalities and pre-built templates simplify the process. As a result, senior-level developers are no longer required to build high-quality, secure apps and automations.

That is game-changing. Not only does it enable faster time-to-deployment compared to traditional software developments. But it also allows people with different experiences to give their input when building the apps. This ultimately creates highly customised solutions that meet their specific needs.

Just imagine how transformational that can be for a healthcare service like the NHS, composed of hundreds of hospitals across the country. Indeed, many of the solutions and processes we’ve already created via Power Platform can be applied to all NHS Trusts.

From time-critical situations to day-to-day patient referral

Power Apps has a transformational potential in many areas of healthcare, particularly when it comes to resource management. For example, our partner ANS recently developed a Power App that helps NHS Trusts equip their frontline staff with the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) kits.

During the pandemic, this provisioning used to happen via a multitude of apps and websites. However, as soon as demand increased dramatically, inefficiencies in the system meant that some hospitals had too much PPE and others not enough. With their new Power App, Trusts can now keep track of PPE availability and order new supplies more effectively.

Another great example is the work we’ve carried out with the London Air Ambulance Charity. This is an advanced trauma team that looks after patients needing emergency medical treatment in the capital, and who are unlikely to survive the journey to hospital by road.

Here again, the team has started using Power Apps to build a range of checklist apps that replace their existing paper-based processes. They’re now also attaching QR codes to their medical bags, which can then be scanned to keep track of equipment.

Beyond emergency response, we’re seeing more and more organisations turn to business apps to automate all kinds of manual process. Our client, an NHS Foundation Trust, is a prime example.

As a mental health organisation, they sometimes refer their patients to other specialists. Previously, these referrals would happen through email or fax. Now, the organisation has created a primary to secondary care referral system – via Power Apps. This system allows them to share patient information in a seamless and secure way. All while reducing the opportunity for mistakes and delays to occur.

Building no/low code apps with Power Platform

After an incredibly challenging period, it’s time for healthcare to look ahead. The past two years have demonstrated the importance of having agile, fast and digital solutions that simplify operations for clinicians, giving them time back to spend with their patients.

So how can you get started with Microsoft Power Platform?

First off, make sure you know what you’re embarking on. We have a lot of resources – from self-paced learning courses to in-person digital events – designed to help you understand the benefits of no/low-code applications and automation platforms.

Once you’ve done all your research, ask yourself: What are some of the day-to-day processes or challenges that could be significantly improved through automation? Which of those are the most impactful and time-sensitive?

These two questions alone will likely already generate ideas for the first few apps and automations that you could create. For whatever comes next, we’re here to help.     

Find out more

Discover Power Platform Training Days

Get Power Platform learning resources

About the author

Ana is Enterprise Sales Manager for Business Applications in the UK Public Sector. With more than 15 years’ experience in technology, she is a technologist, and evangelist with a specialism Healthcare and Education and is passionate about using technology for good.

The post How no/low code apps power patient engagement and operational efficiency appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Frontline workers have suffered ongoing disruption throughout the pandemic which has led to considerable exhaustion and burn out. Increased working hours and pressure means they are also likely to experience a feeling of disconnection from their organisation and their team. As a result, organisations need to support healthcare staff wellbeing. Based on the Work Trend Index Special Report, one of the main focuses organisations should have when it comes to building an inclusive team culture is ensuring frontline workers have the digital tools to stay connected to core organisational messages and resources.

Improving connections to organisational knowledge

Technology like Microsoft Viva Connections can play an important role in shaping the organisational culture to include frontline workers. Viva Connections brings together relevant news, conversations and resources from around your organisation into one place within Teams. It provides both a desktop and mobile experience. Viva Connections is built on the current Microsoft 365 ecosystem within your organisation. It’s powered by SharePoint to help inform, engage, and empower the hybrid workforce. The Viva Connections experience is fully customisable to your organisation’s requirements. Living in Teams, this allows all employees to access information no matter what device they are using and where they are. As a result, all healthcare workers can complete their roles without the need to search for different websites, use different and outdated applications or load resources and tools which only work on a PC.

An improved and updated intranet brought into the flow of daily work in Microsoft Teams provides a simple way for health organisations to deliver all relevant news to frontline workers. It can also create a safe and collaborative space for healthcare teams. This can support organisations in their efforts of keeping employees engaged which can result in higher levels of retention.

Every day, new healthcare regulations are put in place by governments. Often, healthcare workers struggle to find the latest government regulation or guidance and may struggle to pro-actively locate this information. With Viva connections, organisational leaders know they can deliver this content in a uniform experience to all employees, regardless of role.

Delivering connections to new employees

Viva Connections can be particularly useful for new healthcare workers. When joining an organisation it is often difficult to embrace and understand the organisation’s culture and mission. Especially remotely when on the frontline and not in an office setting. Viva Connections provides a virtual resource portal for a new healthcare worker. It supports onboarding through a customisable dashboard which can be personalised to different employee roles. The dashboard delivers a tailored view of these resources through adaptive cards. These can be targeted directly to frontline workers and their own needs. Popular use cases can include weblinks to view pay and benefits, submit holiday requests, view and manage shifts or access time sheets. All these are opened within the Teams browser on a mobile device.

Through the dashboard experience, Viva Connections also provides an extensible platform, where 3^rd party integration such as ServiceNow, LifeWorks or Talentsoft can be plugged directly through adaptive cards. This means that employees can access and complete even more tasks directly from the Connections app. As a result, healthcare workers can save large amounts of time. This is because they no longer need to search the organisations intranet for scattered resources.

Take control of your organisation’s internal communication strategy

In a hybrid working world where healthcare workers are likely to be more disconnected than ever from their organisations, both information workers working from home and workers using mobile devices on the frontline have benefitted from using Microsoft Teams. Now, in this evolution of Microsoft Teams, Viva Connections can ensure healthcare workers stay in touch with their organisation’s latest news, legal requirements and their organisation’s mission and purpose.

To learn more about Viva Connections please connect with Edward Adamson and Ioana Marinescu on LinkedIn. Or, contact your Microsoft account team and we can organise a Viva Connections envisioning session.

Find out more

Get started with Microsoft Viva Connections

Work Trend Index Special Report

3 ways technology can help rebuild your frontline workforce

What’s a Simple Definition of Employee Engagement?

Viva Connections mobile and new partner integrations are now generally available

About the authors

Edward is currently a Modern Work Specialist working with healthcare organisations across the UK, helping on their journey towards digital transformation. Focussing on hybrid working, frontline technologies and wellbeing and productivity management, connect with Edward on LinkedIn to follow content relating to healthcare and Microsoft 365 optimisation.

Ioana works with healthcare organisations across the UK to improve their journey towards digital transformation using Microsoft 365 technologies. She helps healthcare organisations utilise Microsoft Teams to connect multi-disciplinary communities across the organisation, bring wellbeing and productivity management into the flow of everyday work and surface knowledge and learning across the organisation.

The post How to keep frontline healthcare workers connected with digital technology appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Over the last year, the average duration of mental health related absences were three times longer than that of COVID-related absences in the NHS between 1st June 2020 and 1st June 2021. This, teamed with the enormous pressure placed on healthcare organisations recently has placed a newfound importance on personal health and wellbeing. Additionally, frontline teams and their integrated care communities need high quality communication and work practices.

The demand for workplace empowerment tools has existed long before our new hybrid working world. Frontline healthcare workers spend the most time working outside of their working hours compared to their colleagues. According to the 2020 NHS staff survey, 55.2 percent of all NHS employees work additional unpaid hours every week. Due to the demanding nature of frontline jobs, higher employee turnover and the feeling of being disconnected from the community of the organisation is common. This places paramount importance on being able to manage wellbeing at an individual level through readily available tools in order to stimulate a supportive frontline worker community.

Improve productivity and wellbeing

For organisations tackling the increased levels of stress and anxiety of their workforce, leaders are starting to consider the different technologies that can support mental health and wellbeing.

Insights can help empower healthcare employees take control over their own wellbeing. And with Viva Insights, employees can manage the way they work with recommendations visible only to them. For example, a frontline employee on the ward that might want to send praise to a specialist nurse for the incredible way they have been treating a patient. Or colleagues who are part of a multi-disciplinary team might want to make everyone aware of the positive impact a team member has had on their development.

The ability to send praise in the Viva Insights dashboard can help to create and boost team morale. In addition, this can help everyone to feel more connected, being part of a team where their efforts are recognised and praised. As a result, employee retention is improved.

Getting caught in daily administrative tasks, especially if you are a clinician that regularly faces unexpected circumstances during a shift, can leave little time for wellbeing management which eventually could lead to burnout. Clinicians and everyone across the organisation can start taking control of their wellbeing by setting up reminders in the Viva Insights app to finish their shift by reflecting on how they’re feeling. Over time, they can start analysing their reflections, and begin to understand the driving factors behind their emotions. By focussing on their feelings over time, they can discover ways to reduce burnout.

Meditation breaks can not only help people feel energised but can also improve their ability to focus and engage, leading to better patient outcomes. With the integration of Headspace meditation into Teams through Insights, employees can now tap into moments of relaxation before a patient appointment or a team meeting, making sure they feel ready to tackle any problem that may arise – all from a computer or smartphone.

Through the stay connected tab in the Insights app, healthcare workers can easily discover any pending tasks or people they need to connect with, all based on data from the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Leveraging actionable insights in the context of the day-to-day work can help the workforce to concentrate on things that matter. For example, ward staff can easily complete their admin tasks and focus more on delivering the best treatment for patients.

Take Control of Your Wellbeing

Microsoft Viva brings together scattered organisational resources into the central hub of collaboration that is Microsoft Teams, ensuring healthcare workers can manage their wellbeing and utilise their organisational resources so they can deliver the highest standard of patient care while staying in the flow of everyday work. Insights is the first aspect of Microsoft Viva we will be covering in this blogging series. Make sure to send this document to a human resources colleague, a wellbeing lead or a clinician you know who wants to modernise their wellbeing management.

Keep an eye on our Modern Tools tag on our blog, as we continue our series into how organisations can use these tools to support powerful employee experiences.

Find out more

Introduction to Viva Insights

NHS England » Making the most of the skills in our teams

NHS The Promise

Remote Employees Are Working Longer Than Before

3 ways to support frontline workers in a hybrid world

About the author

Edward is currently a Modern Work Specialist working with healthcare organisations across the UK, helping on their journey towards digital transformation. Focusing on hybrid working, frontline technologies and wellbeing and productivity management, connect with Edward on LinkedIn to follow content relating to healthcare and Microsoft 365 optimisation.

Ioana works with healthcare organisations across the UK to improve their journey towards digital transformation using Microsoft 365 technologies. She helps healthcare organisations utilise Microsoft Teams to connect multi-disciplinary communities across the organisation, bring wellbeing and productivity management into the flow of everyday work and surface knowledge and learning across the organisation.

The post How to improve frontline employee wellbeing in healthcare appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

We’re going to be sharing a story every week for the 12 weeks of summer, showing you how healthcare organisations are using technology to transform patient outcomes and increase productivity. For the tenth blog in the series, Andy Launchbury explores why Windows Virtual Desktop is ideal for improving patient care. 

Virtual Desktop Infrastructures (VDI) have been big in the NHS for some time. Healthcare organisations have made huge successes in enhancing workforce productivity and transforming patient care through the use of this technology. In addition, it strengthens defences against cyber-attacks.

Despite this success, many trusts up and down the country believe there’s a serious barrier to entry preventing them from taking advantage of this technology. Primary among these is cost, with significant investment required in infrastructure and software to run these environments on premises. Further to this are the complexities, resources, and time required to manage these environments

These concerns and many more can be addressed with Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD).

WVD is a comprehensive desktop and application VDI based service hosted in Azure. The service is now generally available worldwide.

Through a deal between the Department of Health and Microsoft, all NHS trusts automatically have access to the Windows Virtual Desktop through the Windows Enterprise E5 licensing at no additional cost.

This brings incredible benefits to medical staff, while overcoming many challenges faced by trusts.

1. One virtual machine, multiple sessions

Windows 10 Multi-Session is a unique feature included with WVD. This core element circumvents the common challenge in the healthcare sector: medical staff can’t be tied to a desk all day, and few hospitals can afford multiple computers for each employee, especially when budgets are tight and patient care is the top priority.

This feature is only available in Azure, letting you run a virtual version of Windows 10, with multiple users able to securely log in and out to access a true Windows 10 desktop experience as required.

This lets staff at every level work remotely, picking up tasks and checking in, wherever they are in the building or out on the road doing home visits. It’s an opportunity for NHS trusts to reduce costs without compromising the user experience and to save time in writing up hand-written notes when they’re back in the office.

There are significant consolidation savings that could be realised here, without any compromise on user experience – the only commercial consideration is the cost of compute to run the Windows 10 Virtual Machine instances in Azure. And with options such as reserved instances in Azure, there’s further options to reduce costs.

2. Flexibility and innovation

No two NHS trusts are the same. Each has its own unique and nuanced processes and challenges to overcome, and methods for delivering exceptional patient care. Too many off-the-shelf technology solutions are restrictive, when what’s required is flexibility in your IT systems and the apps you use.

FSLogix is another key functionality directly built into the WVD.

Historically, Office 365 apps has played havoc with VDIs. Windows Virtual Desktop addresses these issues head-on, with FSLogix featuring software capabilities like Profile Container and App Masking to ensure a seamless Office 365 ProPlus experience for all medical staff.

With a virtual desktop that’s freely available to all healthcare professionals, you’re also able to make the choices that best impact your healthcare organisation. By harnessing the power of the Azure cloud, you’re easily able to start a proof-of-concept in minutes, scale to a pilot scheme, and produce results quicker than ever. When targeting enhanced productivity or dramatically improving the care you offer, speed and innovation often determine success.

3. Secure management

With Windows Virtual Desktop, you have the flexibility to select and deploy virtual machines using secure Windows 10 images via the Azure marketplace, or you can import your own image if you have invested into and want to use the same base as your physical endpoint estate.

For ongoing management, you can also utilise familiar technologies such as System Center Configuration Manager or InTune, with the option to also use native services such as Azure Update management via the WVD Management portal.

4. Power-up your virtual desktop

The employee experience is a core part of your healthcare output – a motivated and productive employee means superior patient care, delivered to the highest possible degree. When it comes to technology, one of the main barriers to this is forcing your healthcare professionals to undertake frustrating workarounds because they lack the right tools.

WVD is designed to integrate with external components and solutions from key industry partners offering VDI solutions. Citrix, as a leading example have partnered with Microsoft at an engineering level since the inception of the WVD. Microsoft has worked closely with these partners to ensure our combined solutions work seamlessly, making the employee experience as smooth as can be – because no healthcare professional wishes to waste time on tools that barely allow them to do the job while patients suffer. With your virtual desktop equipped with even greater capability, staff will have everything they need to care for your patients.

Powering healthcare at no additional cost

Now that your trust already has access to the power of WVD via the Windows Enterprise E5 licence – and at no additional cost – take it one step further, by combining it with the power of the Microsoft cloud to create a truly modern desktop experience for the benefit of all staff and patients.

Find out more

Empower care teams

Improve operational outcomes

Deliver personalised care

About the author

Andy Launchbury is Technology Strategist in Microsoft UK’s healthcare team. He likens this role to a healthcare CTO with a focus on the cloud, and works to understand the challenges and innovations healthcare customers are addressing, and to architect solutions using technologies offered by Microsoft and its partners. Andy has a single aim: to help move the NHS and the healthcare industry forward through technologies.

The post 4 ways virtual desktops benefit your NHS trust appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

We’re going to be sharing a story every week for the 12 weeks of summer, showing you how healthcare organisations are using technology to transform patient outcomes and increase productivity. For the ninth blog in the series, Matt Fox explores the latest innovations in the modern data platform and how it empowers healthcare professionals. 

The modern world is fuelled by data. As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told us during this year’s Inspire conference, “90 percent of the data that we have today was created in the last two years.” It’s the key that unlocks innovation; the magic formula that transforms business growth in new and sometimes unexpected ways; the tonic that helps healthcare organisations perfect patient experiences and outcomes.

Over the past several months, we teamed up with Primary Care customers to build something exciting: a modern data platform on the Microsoft Azure Cloud service, based on our publicly available reference architecture.

What is a modern data platform?

All that data flying around is tricky for healthcare organisations to manage. Often it ends up gathering digital dust, forgotten and unseen on a server somewhere. But, in today’s healthcare sector, data must be viewed as a corporate asset.

A modern data platform is what helps organisations like NHS trusts properly store, manage, and access the data they collect. It has the ability to format data in a uniform house-style. That way, it can be viewed and analysed by those who need it, breaking down information silos across the workplace.

Think of it as a platform that brings order to chaotic, disparate systems.

What do data platforms mean for healthcare professionals?

By placing the data back into the hands of healthcare organisations, we’re seeing incredible new uses. One Commissioning Support Unit (CSU) has been able to…

Make better use of the data available

Through an efficient data platform, it’s possible to maintain publicly available data sets like population, pollution and deprivation – and create correlations between those data sets and patients’ health.

Support the creation of an evidence base

A well-run evidence base helps patients look after themselves more effectively. This is in direct support of the NHS Long Term Plan: Digital-First Primary Care, with the objective to make better use of data and digital technology.

Target specific patient cohorts

When used correctly, data analytics can be deployed on a micro-level – for instance, finding frequent A&E attendees. This lets trusts track costs and identify better pathways for these individuals that give them the help they need in a proactive manner.

How does a modern data platform benefit the NHS?

With a cloud computing solution that’s fully approved by NHS Digital to host patient data, we’re only just starting to see what’s possible for healthcare organisations.

Better patient experience

Every patient has different needs, and the technology behind a modern data platform helps those in the healthcare sector fully deliver personalised care. Hosting data in the cloud means the ability to make full use of services like machine learning. This enables individualised care planning, vastly improving the quality of patient care and outcomes.

Reduced costs

Giving NHS organisations greater control over data means trusts can budget based on what’s best for them. In a sense, it’s no different to a company using detailed business intelligence to grow: it lets leadership teams zero in on what’s working (and what’s not), where efficiencies can be made, and how to continue to improve services offered. A key technology to support this is SQL Azure Managed Instance, and last year Forrester reported on the total economic impact of this service.

Increased agility and scalability

Modern healthcare organisations need to keep pace, and sustain it. They must be ready to pivot in any direction in order to provide the best possible care. Data platforms let you become more agile and scale on your own terms, removing the barriers around capacity limits of operating in an on-premises environment.

The only question is: what is your healthcare organisation doing to create a modern data platform?

About the author

Matt Fox is a Technology Strategist in the Microsoft UK Healthcare team, with more than 20 years’ experience in the IT industry. During his 15 years at Microsoft he’s predominantly worked in the Public Sector. Matt is passionate about the way software can have societal impact and how citizens can engage more effectively with public services as a result. Most recently he’s been working across primary care and partnering with commissioning units to support their digital transformation strategies, especially around data.

The post How a modern data platform can transform healthcare appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

We’re going to be sharing a story every week for the 12 weeks of summer, showing you how healthcare organisations are using technology to transform patient outcomes and increase productivity. For the sixth blog in the series, Stephen Docherty, Industry Solutions Executive for Health, discusses his first-hand experience of implementing cloud computing to advance NHS healthcare services.

On King’s College campus, south London, two medical organisations came together to solve a problem: what the healthcare industry desperately needed was a way to speed up the translation of scientific discoveries into clinical trials and other studies, conducting research into new tests, treatments and theories in mental health.

The idea sparked the beginning of the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). This centre was developed by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London (IoPPN), and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

When I first came on board as SLaM’s CIO – and meeting BRC colleagues, where I had a team managing the Clinical Records Interactive Search (CRIS) system – I was in awe. Machine learning was being applied to de-identified clinical records, which allowed PhD students and researchers to gain valuable insight from the data.

The system’s potential power really struck a chord. I wanted to help evolve it; to make it better, faster, smarter, and get that healthcare data into the cloud.

Cloud computing comes first

Our initial IT strategy focused on laying the foundations, future-proofing the services, and transforming into a ‘cloud-first’ organisation. This led to a great relationship with Microsoft. We evolved our IT services and worked towards a fully-digitised workforce. And we were fortunate to be one of the first two organisations to access the Azure cloud before anyone else in the UK.

As SLaM’s Digital Services department became more familiar with cloud computing, we made the decision to re-architect the aging CRIS system into Azure. This sped up the de-identification process. The next step was to develop the Natural Language Processing (NLP) capability in Azure. Our aim was to create an ‘NLP-as-a-service’ model other trusts could use.

Transforming digital services

Our digital transformation has, it turns out, naturally followed a three-phased approach.

SLaM’s initial IT strategy allowed us to future-proof IT services by fully adopting Office 365 and Azure cloud computing. This meant we also de-risked the environment as we developed new capabilities, leading to SLaM becoming London’s global digital exemplar (GDE) for mental health. We embraced the cloud and understood the power of platforms.

With radically improved digital services, we realised that we had to help our staff adopt the technology and platforms. This saw us develop SLaM’s next-generation digital strategy, with staff co-designing learning and coaching programmes with us.

This helped them all comfortably adopt Office 365, particularly Microsoft Teams. SLaM is a multi-site, multi-service, and multi-disciplined Trust – so, the use of Teams has enabled collaboration across the various programmes and services.

Driven by data

The third phase, which evolves from our IT and digital strategies, will transform SLaM into a data-driven organisation. Data must lie at the heart of our every decision. That’s what drove us to create our data strategy. It was approved by the Trust Board in May 2019, just before I took up my role as Health Executive for Microsoft.

This strategy uses data to learn, improve services, and evolve business intelligence. Front-line clinicians will finally have the right information, right at their fingertips, blessing them with ‘the gift of time.’

Additionally, SLaM’s plan is to use research capabilities with CRIS and NLPaas. This strategy will link different datasets to derive insight, driving continuous improvement. Once the basics are right, and you have the right tools, getting insight is the natural next step. For SLaM, Microsoft Office 365 and Azure has been fundamental to implementing that.

About the author

Stephen Docherty is a Microsoft Industry Executive for Health, engaging healthcare professionals and organisations and empowering their work through modern technology. Before joining Microsoft, he spent over 4 years as Chief Information Officer for South London and Maudsley NHS FT, bringing a different perspective to the NHS’s digital transformation – a time he describes as ‘fantastic’.

The post 3 steps to evolving healthcare in the cloud appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.