The Gwent Frailty Programme is a healthcare initiative in Wales which aims to improve homecare for the frail and elderly to reduce hospital admissions.

Aneurin Bevan Health Board works in partnership with five unitary authorities in Gwent.  It’s aim is to provide a seamless transition from a hospital based focused to more community care.

Anoto supported Aneurin Bevan Health Board (ABHB) to deliver services to 600,000 people underpinning the transition from hospital focused care to community care.

Carers used paper forms and diaries to manage and record appointments and needed to return back to the hospital to input detailed referral information. Often this resulted in referrals being missed, visits duplicated and staff whereabouts often being unknown.

Anoto and Vodafone solution helps community healthcare staff free up an extra 5,000 patient visits per year through slashing administration time by up to 35%.

Carers today use a digital pen to fill out a paper form during a home consultation. The paper form remains with the patient for family or voluntary carers to review, while the digital pen encrypts and transfers the form via the carer’s smart phone. The digital data is received by back-end systems so it can be accessed by other clinicians and hospital staff immediately id required.

The solution has helped to improve efficiency by enabling the replacement of the paper diary previously used for scheduling patient visits.  Now over 200 carers use the robust solution to receive detailed referral information and appointments whilst in the community.  One significant benefit is that clinical information is now passed securely and instantly, resulting in more efficient working, reduced unnecessary admissions, improved staff safety and greater quality of care provided.

The use of digital pens reported an average of 10 minutes saved per patient visit. Additionally as carers no longer need to travel to offices for filing or arranging appointments, significant savings on travel expenses and time were also reported.  Anoto and Vodafone solution helps community healthcare staff free up an extra 5,000 patient visits per year through slashing administration time by up to 35%.

• Carers using the digital pen and paper solution reported an average of 10 minutes saved per patient visit
• With an average of five visits per shift and 200 people within the carer group, immense savings have been made
• There is no longer the need for carers to go to the office to collect schedules or file paperwork. ABHB expects to see significant savings on travel expenses
• The solution also helps carers feel safer as the Health Board knows exactly where all of its carers are at any point in time