Response
Thank you for your letter. We agree, that in order to drive and refine the adoption of digital innovation across healthcare it is important to use rigour when carrying out benefits analysis.1 We are committed to demonstrating a causal relationship between intervention to outcome rather than just correlation.
Statistical analysis on the effectiveness of reminder services has been demonstrated in multiple studies using a variety of different methodologies. We recommend the TURNUP study for a comprehensive meta-analysis of studies in this field.2
There is no common consensus on an optimal framework to use; however, there are many which could be applicable. These include Statistical Process Control, those discussed in the World Health Organization3 and those being developed by the European Union.4
DrDoctor is in the process of evaluating approaches to apply to our data to better understand the impact of our technology and services, and to drive further improvements.DrDoctor currently works with 10 partner NHS trusts in a variety of geographies across the UK. This has given us 6.5 million data points to power statistical analyses exploring the impact of multiple confounders on DNA rates. These confounders include regional, seasonality, weather, specialty and other hospital operational initiatives. We are in the process of collating this data and currently reviewing different frameworks for analysis, with the intention of future publications.
- © Royal College of Physicians 2018. All rights reserved.
References
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- Car J
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- McLean SM
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- World Health Organization
- ↵Request for an opinion: Assessing the impact of digital transformation of health services. (2018). European Commission, 2018.
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