IMX Ims Maxims

    30th September 2005


Media Contact:

Ann Braham
Ann Walls Associates
annbraham@btconnect.com
+ 44 (0)1558 668582


             Irish Hospital Waiting List National Website Launched             

                         Powered by MAXIMS technology                          

                              from IMS MAXIMS plc                              

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) in Dublin has just launched a new
national online database, the Patient Treatment Register (www.ptr.ie) that
provides public access to waiting numbers and waiting times for thousands of
procedures performed in major hospitals in Ireland. Utilising innovative
database extraction, validation and data warehouse compilation software
developed by IMS MAXIMS plc, the Patient Treatment Register (PTR) provides, for
the first time, validated up-to-date information based upon actual patient
waiting list records held within the individual hospital computer systems. 

Initially, Phase 1 of the PTR website incorporates data extracted from seven of
the country's largest acute hospitals. Under the prior waiting list system,
these hospitals accounted for approximately 40% of the total number of patients
waiting nationally. The remaining 45 hospitals will progressively be brought
onto the Register throughout 2006.

The T�naiste and Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, T.D., welcomed
the Register:  "The Patient Treatment Register is a new way of putting patients
first in the way we provide elective treatments in our hospitals.  People will
have better information and choice about their treatment.  With their GPs, they
will have a stronger role in decisions about their own treatment.  The NTPF
will be proactive in contacting patients to offer treatment options.  We will
also now be able to measure progress in getting waiting times down, which is
the aim of government policy and what patients want. This is a practical
example of a patient-centred service.'

In this first, high profile, waiting list initiative in Ireland, this
innovative database solution from IMS MAXIMS plc has provided the NTPF with a
very versatile data interrogation tool. It will enable the Health Service to
see exactly what is happening throughout the country, by hospital on a
month-by-month basis. The PTR system receives waiting list data from the
disparate Patient Administration Systems (PAS') in the different hospitals and
builds it into an information source with detail down to procedural level. The
public are able to view aggregated, easy to understand data on the top 20
procedures, which accounts for approximately 50% of what people are waiting
for, while GPs will have access to more detailed waiting time information for
all available specialties and procedures across all hospitals. Individual
hospitals will also have access to detailed information on their own procedures
and patient wait status.

Barbara Moulton, Operations Manager at NTPF, states: "This has been a very
substantial project. Not only have we had to standardise the way information is
recorded across the country so we know we are comparing like with like, but it
has had to be presented in a simple-to-understand summary format for public
comprehension. We now have live data in a live data warehouse, where none of
our information is older than one week." Having researched waiting list systems
prior to the programme, Barbara continues: "We now have waiting list
information at a higher level than any other available internationally thanks
to IMS."

Brian Ennis, Chief Executive at IMS MAXIMS plc, added: "Providing waiting list
information down to procedural level necessitated the full mapping, of in
excess of 10,000 procedural codes, into the data warehouse. One of the biggest
challenges was negotiating consistent guidelines for recording data across all
hospitals and gaining the agreement to build extra fields in their basic
dataset to give the level of detail in the extract file needed by the NTPF.

"With Phase 1 now complete and all the core procedures and processes now in
place, we look forward to the roll out across the remaining Irish hospitals
with their wide range of disparate PAS systems. It has been a very satisfying
project and an immense pleasure to be associated with such a high profile,
successful initiative. This is the second major system that we have delivered
to the NTPF in the last 2 months, following quickly on the heels of the recent
Patient Management System."

Successes achieved to date

The NTPF was established by Government to treat patients who have been longest
on surgical in-patient waiting lists. The Fund arranges for the treatment of
patients that have been waiting longer than three months. Successes already
achieved and recorded in the data collected to date for Phase 1 hospitals
include:

   - Waiting times are significantly reduced in the hospitals on  
     the Register, and the total numbers of patients waiting have 
     also been reduced.                                           
                                                                  
   - For the most common surgical procedures (17 out of 20),      
     patients are waiting 2 to 4 months for their operation.      
                                                                  
   - The number of patients waiting in the 6 to 12 month waiting  
     time band has been halved, while those waiting over 12 months
     are down two thirds.                                         
                                                                  
   - In total there are 4,944 actively waiting for a surgical     
     procedure (including 628 day cases not previously recorded)  
     in the hospitals, compared to 9,106 reported under the old   
     system for the same hospitals in January 2004.               

Mr. Pat O'Byrne, Chief Executive, the National Treatment Purchase Fund,
concludes:  "The development of the Patient Treatment Register has been
achieved in close collaboration with hospitals and required significant
technical and operational development.  It is a significant step forward which
will benefit patients."

                                     ENDS                                      

Patient Treatment Register detail:

The Patient Treatment Register provides for the first time:

-      An accessible website link for patients, with detailed          
       information on the top surgical procedures and waiting times for
       each;                                                           
                                                                       
-      The ability for the NTPF to contact patients directly.  Patients
       receive PTR cards from the NTPF so that they have the           
       information to opt for treatment under the Fund.  Patients are  
       already receiving cards.                                        
                                                                       
-      A GP website link on waiting times for all procedures in        
       individual hospitals in order to assist the referral process;   
                                                                       
-      A separate link for each hospital with detailed information on  
       procedures and patient status;                                  
                                                                       
-      A complete and accurate picture of hospital waiting lists in    
       Ireland, including waiting times and numbers, with consistent   
       national operating guidelines and definitions, and actual status
       of lists, reflecting the continuous movement of patients on and 
       off hospital lists.                                             

 

The Patient Treatment Register is being phased in nationally, with Phase 1 now
complete and live.  Phase 1 includes data from the following hospitals;

-     The Mater Misericordiae Hospital           
-     Tallaght Hospital                          
-     Beaumont Hospital                          
-     St. James's Hospital                       
-     St. Vincent's University Hospital          
-     Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown          
-     St John's Hospital, Limerick               

The new Patient Treatment Register sets out detailed waiting lists statistics
using uniform definitions.  The Register highlights the number of patients
actively waiting for treatment; those who, for whatever reason, are not now
available for their procedure; those who are suspended; and those who have a
scheduled date for treatment.  This detailed information gives an up-to-date,
accurate reflection of the position in each public hospital in Phase 1, which
has not been available previously.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund continues to arrange surgical treatment
for public patients on public hospital waiting lists and its target for 2005 is
to arrange treatment for over 16,000 patients.  To date, over 35,000 patients
have been treated under the Fund since July 2002.  There is no need for
patients to wait over three months for their surgical procedure.  Patients can
contact the NTPF to check if they are eligible for treatment under the Fund.

Background note to Editors

WEBSITE: www.ntpf.ie or www.ptr.ie

The new user friendly website link enables patients to check waiting times for
the top 20 procedures in each of the hospitals in Phase 1.  They will be able
to access the patient link and by scrolling over the human body get definitions
for each procedure and then access the waiting time in a particular hospital
for that procedure.

GP's can access information through the GP link, on waiting times for every
surgical procedure in each hospital covered in Phase 1.  In 2006, they will be
able to see the waiting times for hospitals and refer their patient to the
hospital with the shortest waiting time for that procedure. This is the first
online system on waiting times nationally, and will facilitate referral
decisions by GP's and patients.  Once a public patient has been put on a public
in-patient or day case waiting list by their hospital consultant, their name
will be placed on the Patient Treatment Register by that hospital.

Each hospital also has a separate log-in facility, which is password protected,
so that they can access information on each procedure in their hospital.  This
will give the hospital the patient status on their own waiting list and this
can be used for planning and delivery of patient treatment. 

For the first time patients, GP's and hospitals have updated information at
their hands which can help get patients treated faster.   GP's and patients
will be able to use the Patient Treatment Register and the information on the
average waiting times for surgery at a particular hospital for a particular
procedure, when making their decision on referral. 

Patient confidentiality is totally protected in that no names appear on the
website.


IMS MAXIMS plc

IMS MAXIMS plc is an innovative healthcare provider specialising in the
development and implementation of clinically oriented eHealth solutions, core
hospital EPR and enterprise-wide EHR systems. Founded in 1986 and floated on
the London AIM market in 1999, the group has grown both organically and through
acquisition to become one of the leading players in the healthcare arena, with
offices in Dublin and Woburn Sands, Milton Keynes.

The company supports over 25 hospitals, Trusts and Health Boards, with its
web-based clinical and administrative products utilising leading-edge
technologies and the philosophy of working in close partnership with healthcare
organisations to generate real operational benefits. These organisations
include: Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS
Trust, Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS
Trust, Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology, Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust,
Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Mid West
Regional Hospital Limerick, Mid Yorkshire Hospitals, NTPF - National Purchase
Treatment Fund Dublin, Royal Cornwall Hospitals, St. Helen's & Knowsley NHS
Trust, Ulster Community & Hospitals Trust and St. Vincent's University Hospital
Dublin. Further information can be found on http://www.imsmaxims.com.

IMS MAXIMS plc                         IMS MAXIMS plc                       
Sandymount                             Clara House                          
Station Road                           Glenageary Park                      
Woburn Sands                           Co. Dublin                           
MK17 8RR                               Ireland                              
                                                                            
Tel: 01908 588800                      Tel: +353 1 284 0555                 
Fax: 01908 588819                      Fax: +353 1 284 0829                 
Email: info@imsmaxims.com              Email: info@imsmaxims.com            



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