BWC WMCPC Digital Referral Solution - Market Engagement

Description

The West Midlands CAMHS Provider Collaborative (WMCPC) has scoped options to enhance its referral process through digital innovation. This appraisal assesses three alternatives to replace the current manual, email-based system, which is inefficient and plagued by a high rate of returned referrals due to missing or incorrect information. <br/>The current referral method, which involves filling out and emailing a Word document (Form 1), is labour intensive and error prone. This approach has led to a substantial administrative burden, consuming upwards of 105 hours each month to ensure the sufficiency of information for clinical gatekeeping. <br/>The referral hub faces significant challenges, with 68% of referrals requiring resubmission due to incomplete or erroneous information. The iterative nature of the existing process introduces delays and inefficiencies, affecting the prompt placement of patients and taxing resources. With the impending expansion of services to include an additional seven Integrated Care Boards from September 2023, the need for a robust digital solution is pressing. Lot 1: We would like to Develop our own digital platform that we can develop to our own requirements and digitise our current Form 1 and allow us an opportunity to use the platform for other internal referral type tasks. The platform will make it easier for people to send in a referral and remove any issues of key information missing by having mandatory fields where appropriate. The referral hub team will be able to log into the platform and review referrals which will keep all forms in one place making it easier to administer and process. The platform will also be built in a modular fashion, meaning we can develop future enhancements such as connecting to other EPR systems and build AI algorithms. This option ensures that we are creating exactly what we need, in the way we need it.<br/>We propose the creation of a bespoke e-referral system tailored to the nuanced requirements of the West Midlands CAMHS Provider Collaborative (WMCPC), focusing on scalability, interoperability, and national potential for commercial deployment. This strategic solution is designed to meet the WMCPC's immediate operational needs while embodying the NHS's commitment to healthcare modernisation via digital transformation. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, the system will provide a robust, flexible platform that streamlines service delivery and optimises data utilisation, thereby elevating patient care and enhancing overall operational efficacy.