Virtual Ward Use Case

Introduction

The variety of integration options for virtual wards is creating a demand for a standardised approach to data transfer, which we are now looking to develop in this next phase of work.

Sharing data strengthens patient care, reduces clinical risk and removes inefficiencies, releasing time for healthcare professionals. This guidance is the first step towards resolving the wider virtual wards interoperability and data sharing problems identified in the discovery. Our aim and intention is to iterate this standard going forward, with the ultimate goal being a fully structured output.

We are looking to support the development of a 'first of type' which demonstrates the technical feasibility of a standards based approach using FHIR, and build momentum for future phases.

Objectives

The Virtual Wards hack has four distinct use cases, covering the patients journey through referral to a virtual ward,, monitoring while on a virtual ward, and discharge from the virtual ward. These use cases can be done in any order and is solution agnostic. The objective is to test and gauge how UK core profiles can be used to meet these use cases:

Use Case 1

Sharing data for admission/discharge processes

• Given I am a clinician not involved in virtual ward delivery,
  
• When a patient is deemed appropriate to move onto a virtual ward (either for early hospital discharge or admission avoidance),
  
• Then I can easily refer them to a virtual ward and share all relevant data with the virtual ward team regarding their admission.

Use Case 2

Patient care-setting/location markers

• Given I am a clinician not involved in virtual ward delivery
  
• When I view my patient's record,
  
• Then I can see a marker to tell me if they are currently on a virtual ward, so I am aware of their current care provision.

Use Case 3

Real time/spot observation data sharing (during/post virtual ward stay)

• Given I am a virtual ward clinician,
  
• When a set of observations is taken by my patient, using remote monitoring devices,
  
• Then I can automatically see the structured observation data in the main clinical record without needing to manually copy data over.

Use Case 4

Real time/spot observation data sharing (during/post virtual ward stay)

• Given I am a virtual ward clinician,
  
• When a patient is ready to be discharged from the virtual ward to the GP/Community team,
  
• Then I can easily generate a summary of the key data from the remote monitoring platform, regarding their stay, in a format that can be automatically shared with the main clinical system used in the virtual ward and other clinical systems used locally, to supplement the official discharge letter.

Resources

The FHIR reference server has been preloaded with the following patients and associated Observation test data, which can be used for these use cases:

• Virtual Wards Draft Standards
• Virtual Wards Observation Data Spreadsheet
• Virtual Wards Slide Deck
• Virtual Wards Sample Report Template