Gastroenterology

Building on the success of the digital innovations within the gastroenterology 2021-2022 Adoption Fund, this year's fund will once again focus on specific priorities within the gastroenterology field.

The priorities have been selected through input and feedback from the programme's advisory group, comprised of clinical, charity and national teams, as well as been ratified by our internal governance processes.

All priorities are strategically aligned to the Supporting People at Home programme and associated benefits:

Reduction in the number of unnecessary face-to-face appointments in primary care and outpatient settings
Reduction in the number of unnecessary visits to care settings to receive periodical assessments of LTCs, emergency and outpatient care as the result of using digital technologies to manage a condition which in turn prevents deterioration
Increased number of patients able to access outpatient services through patient-initiated follow-up
Improved patient experience with more convenient access to advice, diagnosis and treatment
Improved management of LTC as the result of patient being supported through digital technologies to manage their condition at home
Improved health outcomes as the result of patients with LTC adopting remote monitoring solutions and successfully self-managing their condition

To be able to apply for the funding, applicants must be looking to deliver digital innovation in either:

Digital transformation in IBS pathways
Digital patient education and information to support pre-assessment

All applicants must review the checklist at the beginning of the application form to ensure they understand the expectations of the programme and associated funding.

Digital transformation in IBS pathways

What is it?

We are looking to promote in-pathway use of digital therapeutics and / or breath test machines in IBS management that patients can undertake at home. An example of this can be found within the gastroenterology playbook.

How much funding can I apply for?

You will be able to apply for a maximum of £200,000.

What data items will I be expected to collect?

Baseline items (collected once):

Number of IBS patients within the service (such as historic clinic lists)
Average number of ED visits due to IBS
Average number of outpatient appointments / clinical engagements (including attendance for tests and face-to-face appointments)
Target cohort pilot size by month

Data items (collected monthly):

Number of patients recruited onto digital pathways
Number of tests / materials accessed (dependant on innovation)
Number of healthcare settings involved in project
Number of reduced patient trips due to innovation (completely reduced and moved to digital appointments)
Number of further clinical treatment avoided due to use of innovation
Number of patients that step off digital pathway
Patient experience feedback (including optional QOL measure)
Number of events which require clinical intervention

Digital patient education and information to support pre-assessment

What is it?

We are looking to promote the use of digital patient education and information to reduce the rates of do not attend / cancellations and reduce the amount of unnecessary face-to-face appointments. This could be digital bowel preparation and associated resources for patients to undertake ahead of undergoing their procedure. Innovation should demonstrate either an ability to interface with a mature patient engagement platform (or test the ability to interface with such a platform), supporting the ambition to integrate user-generated data into the electronic health record and allow people to access such solutions through the NHS App. The innovation must support freeing up staff time for more patient-facing activity and contact. Examples of this can be found within the playbooks here: Example 1 , Example 2 , Example 3

Using patient education videos to improve quality of bowel preparation for colonoscopy

NHS Transformation Directorate - transformation to improve health and care for everyoneWe are looking to promote the use of digital platforms to provide patients with education and information ahead of undergoing their procedure. This may include information on bowel preparation, introducing digital consent forms or hosting virtual pre-assessment appointments. Examples of this can be found within the playbooks: Example 1 , Example 2 , Example 3

How much funding can I apply for?

You will be able to apply for a maximum of £150,000.

What data items will I be expected to collect?

Baseline items (collected once):

Average number of monthly cancellations / DNAs
Number of face-to-face and/or telephone appointments currently being done for pre-assessment
Target pilot cohort size by month

Data items (collected monthly):

Number of people who have accessed / used digital prep information
Number of cancellations / DNAs
Number of cases pre assessed face to face and / or by telephone
Patient experience feedback