New dabl Anticoagulant Service launched at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland >
Deloitte & Touche evaluation highlights benefits for patients and clinicians of new dabl Anticoagulant System
Ivor Callely, TD, Minister for State at the Department of Health &
Children, with particular responsibility for sevices to the elderly, today
(8th September 2003) formally launched a radically improved anticoagulant
service at Beaumont Hospital. The service, which uses a new system developed
in Ireland, the dabl®Anticoagulant Management System, represents a quantum leap in the service
to patients who are prescribed Warfarin and other anticoagulants.
The IT-based system has been designed by the Dublin-based software firm dabl®Ltd, working in close collaboration with Beaumont Hospital consultants is supplied by dabl Ltd in Blackrock, Dublin.
Anticoagulants inhibit blood clotting
and are used in the management of heart disease and prevention of stroke.
But to prevent the risk of haemorrhage the dosage has to be reviewed at
regular intervals. Some 2,000 patients use Beaumont's anticoagulant services
each year. Until recently that has meant upwards of 260 patients attending
a clinic at the hospital each week, with most having to wait three or
more hours to receive the results of their blood test and revised prescriptions.
Under the new system, these patients
have been transferred to a sophisticated computerised service run by a
specialist nurse and secretary. Patients attend the Phlebotomy Department,
rather than a specific clinic, and blood samples are taken within 15 minutes.
The test results and prescriptions are sent in computer-generated letters
to both the patient and family doctor, along with the date of next appointment
and other details, including a unique wallet card containing details of
diagnosis and dosage.
The success of the new approach has
been evaluated by Deloitte & Touche, which carried out an independent
assessment of the service compared to the traditional clinic. It found
that the new system represented a significant streamlining of the service,
with benefits for both patients and clinical staff. As well as drastically
reducing waiting time and allowing patients far greater flexibility in
their appointments, the system brings significant improvements in patient
safety. Crucially, patient satisfaction levels were 100% with, 89% saying
the new service is excellent.
Launching the improved service, Mr
Callely noted that it was a truly state-of-the-art solution resulting
from close collaboration between the public and private sectors, as well
as the involvement of patients. "Beaumont's anticoagulant service
is set to play an even more vital role in the management of cardiovascular
disease and prevention of stroke through the development of this exciting
new world class approach," he said.
"Ireland is a leading centre
of global software development. It is a pleasure to see that in this instance
this world leadership has important domestic social, as well as economic,
benefits."
Four years ago, Beaumont's consultants
and management had recognised that to achieve a quantum leap forward in
terms of patient services they would need the support of experienced software
developers and a company that understood the importance of management
systems to the effective use of technology. dabl®Limited had proved
itself to be just such a company, he said.
Mr Bill Rickard, Managing Director
of dabl®Limited said his
company was delighted by the success of the new system, as demonstrated
by the findings of the Deloitte & Touche independent assessment of
the new service. With the number of patients on Warfarin therapy in Ireland
increasing by about 20% each year, it was clear that the system held significant
potential for other anticoagulant service providers not just in Ireland
but also worldwide.