The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended new NHS-developed technology that can predict hospitalisations a month before they happen.
The innovation – which was developed by researchers at the country’s largest trust, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) – uses the data captured by heart failure patients to reduce the risks of admissions.
Such patients are often fitted with a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator which collects a wide range of useful information. This includes:
- Heart rate
- Heart rhythm
- Physical activity
- Fluid build-up in the lungs
The TriageHF Plus pathway analyses this data to assess the risk of a patient being hospitalised and alerts healthcare staff when a patient crosses the hospitalisation ‘high risk’ threshold.
“I am delighted NICE has recommended the use of the TriageHF Plus pathway which will have a positive impact on patients across the country,” said Dr Fozia Ahmed, the MFT consultant cardiologist that led the research.
She added: “We routinely see patients with heart failure in the hospital clinic for a check-up every six months, but we know that their condition can deteriorate rapidly between appointments.
“Having an automatic system that alerts us to early signs of deterioration enables us to intervene quickly, preventing hospitalisations and potentially deaths, due to heart failure.”
Research published earlier this year in the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Journal analysed 758 patients across Greater Manchester and found the rate of hospitalisation dropped by 58% in patients whose devices were monitored by the TriageHF Plus pathway.
The pathway has been introduced to eight hospitals across Greater Manchester to further evaluate its performance.
Dr Ahmed concluded: “For patients, this offers peace of mind that the hospital team is able to monitor them remotely and get ahead of any problems or changes which, if left untreated, could result in an admission to hospital.
“It is about using the technology contained within these devices to their full capability and developing pathways in the heart failure service within the hospital to ensure we can act on alerts we receive quickly.
“This is something we have pioneered in Manchester and have proven that this is replicable and scalable across different hospitals.”
It is estimated that heart failure impacts around one million people in the UK.
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