The integration of General Practice databases into an Accident & Emergency department

📄 Project Abstract

Between April 2007 and March 2008 there were 19.1 million Accident and Emergency department attendances in hospitals in England (The IC, 2009). The vast majority of these will have begun with an initial patient assessment by a member of hospital staff. This project aims to identify potential benefits and issues surrounding the introduction of the electronic patient record to Accident and Emergency departments. This would potentially offer staff a source of more detailed patient data than currently available to them in order for them to treat the patient more effectively. One of the key aims of the project is to use simulation modelling to identify potential benefits and to demonstrate the effects of the introduction of access to the patient records on the whole A&E department. The project identifies qualitative and quantitative benefits of access to the patient records through a combination of modelling scenarios and expert interviews. The project uses prototyping and a System Dynamics...