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.