In March, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that £5 million will be made available across 28 CCGs and 7 hospital Trusts to purchase equipment, training and digital technology to accelerate the diagnosis of skin conditions (including potential cancers).
This investment is incredibly timely and urgently needed, as the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a record-breaking backlog of patients seeking outpatient dermatology appointments.
New innovation in digital triage technology, clinical communication and image-sharing tools has spurred the development of sophisticated teledermatology solutions ready for adoption by NHS partners. NHS providers need to tackle this capacity crisis effectively, so it’s essential that they make informed, evidence-driven decisions when procuring new teledermatology tools.
How is Cinapsis’s teledermatology solution different?
Cinapsis can be used by primary care clinicians to securely take photos on their own device and manage them directly in EMIS and SystmOne (with Cinapsis PhotoConsult) and, if necessary, to get specialist advice on diagnosis and management directly into the patient record (with Cinapsis SmartReferrals).
The Cinapsis platform has end-to-end read and write operability with EMIS Web, EMIS Community and SystmOne, meaning that patient records can be easily accessed and automatically updated with attachments and the details of any correspondence and outcomes.
In addition to interoperability with primary and secondary care systems, Cinapsis is compliant with the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) and has exceeded the standards. The platform is made secure through:
- End-to-end encryption
- No data stored on the device or personal cloud
- Data stored at rest encrypted on the Health and Social Care Network using AES 256
- Cyber Essentials Plus-certified
- Annual CREST-certified penetration testing
Cinapsis is helping several different NHS regions tackle waiting lists and reduce face-to-face appointments
For the majority of dermatology cases, hospital clinic appointments are not necessary. Cinapsis supports GPs to get advice and guidance from specialists to decide treatment plans for patients, serving to eliminate unnecessary outpatient appointments.
Following the ongoing success of our platform in Gloucestershire and successful pilots in other regions, Cinapsis has been chosen as the advice and guidance solution for teledermatology in several large healthcare Trusts in England.
Our impact in Gloucestershire
In 2019, we partnered with One Gloucestershire Integrated Care System (ICS) to improve their triage system for dermatology referrals.
They were looking for a quick, user-friendly platform that made it easy for remote-working GPs and nurses to use their own smartphones to take and share images with dermatologists at local hospitals. So, we worked closely with clinicians and the ICS team to rapidly roll out Cinapsis and refine the platform to the unique needs of the users.
Prior to the implementation, only 10% of 2-week wait referrals had an image attached. Using the Cinapsis smartphone app, 100% of cases are complete with images and clinical information. Photos are captured and shared securely and are automatically saved into the patient’s record in EMIS and SystmOne.
Dermatologists in the Trust complete advice and guidance requests remotely using any device and do not require a smartcard – cases are completed much faster and more conveniently than before, taking 25% less time on average. This has significantly reduced response times, with GPs and nurses receiving an answer within minutes or hours rather than days. GPs get notified when a response is complete and 70% of patients are managed without a face-to-face outpatient referral.
The use of Cinapsis has improved patient pathways: all 2-week wait referrals are now undergoing image triage prior to an appointment. For the 20% of dermatology cases seen by GPs that are suspected cancer cases, timely specialist opinion is essential. Cinapsis helps GPs and consultants to work together and ensure that these patients get the streamlined treatment or clinic appointment that they need. In addition, integration with the patient’s medical record allows skin conditions to be easily monitored over time by the dermatologist or GP.
Cinapsis allows me to access rapid management advice for patients suffering with dermatological conditions. Without the app, these patients would have to wait for weeks to be seen in a clinic, on account of the long waiting times.
- Dr Bethan George, GP
Cinapsis is the only system that provides the front-end flexibility we require. The configurability of the Cinapsis solution and the ongoing support from the team has allowed us to wire our system in a really effective way.
- Dr Malcolm Gerald, Clinical Lead for Cinapsis Project, One Gloucestershire ICS
This collaboration between Primary and Secondary Care has made a significant impact on driving down waiting times, reducing clinician workloads and improving patient outcomes in Gloucestershire. Learn more about the outcomes of our partnership here.
Why partner with Cinapsis?
As emphasised by Prof. Sam Shah, Faculty of Future Healthcare Chief Medical Strategy Officer and former NHSX Director of Digital, it’s essential that solutions implemented protect patients’ privacy and do not transfer data rights to system providers.
CCGs and Trusts that use Cinapsis’s products do so in the confidence that no patient data is stored on personal devices or cloud accounts, and that Cinapsisis fully IG and GDPR compliant, never compromising on patient data security.
Other key reasons why our partners choose Cinapsis include:
- Cinapsis is a clinically-led technology company that is revolutionising how patients are referred across the NHS.
- Our clinical communications platform has been approved by NHSX and NHS Digital, and is featured in the new Digital Dermatology Playbook
- Our unique integrations allow data to flow efficiently from Primary to Secondary Care
- When no local specialist is available to offer advice and guidance, platform users can tap into a national network of registered clinicians
- Cinapsis is an approved supplier on the NHSX Clinical Communication Framework and DPS for eERS
- Significant in-year savings
- Trusted by several different Integrated Care Systems
What our users say
Cinapsis is a pleasure to use: it’s all in one and laid out really simply. I find it much quicker and simpler than the painful process of Advice and Guidance in e-RS.
- Dr Tom Millard, Consultant Dermatologist
Saw patient with suspicious skin lesion. Sent summary and three photos via app to dermatology team. Diagnosis and management back within one hour. Impressed.
- Dr Mark Porter, GP and anchor for BBC Radio 4’s Inside Health
Cinapsis is not only quick, it also sorts out image compression, GDPR and helps with audit.
- Dr Alan Gwynn, GP Board Member, Gloucestershire CCG
To get in touch with the Cinapsis team, drop us an email on hello@cinapsis.org.