The Irish healthtech company xWave has announced a partnership with the Royal College of Radiologists to tackle imaging backlogs.
The collaboration will see xWave’s tech platform made available in the UK, helping patients to access life-saving treatments.
NHS radiology services are currently under pressure, with record-breaking wait times for diagnostic tests and specialist appointments.
According to a BMJ report, patient backlogs, coupled with a 29 per cent shortfall of radiology consultants, are leading to delays in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers and other life-threatening conditions.
As part of a plan to tackle the growing crisis, the Royal College of Radiologists and xWave will work together to offer clinicians in the UK tested technology to improve patient outcomes.
xWave says its Clinical Decision Support (CDS) platform enables clinicians to input information about a patient case, presenting them with advice in line with evidence-based guidance.
The digital tool helps clinicians make the best referral decision for each patient and supports hospital-based radiology teams to vet and approve imaging requests more easily.
This is hoped to reduce unnecessary scans and wasted appointments, helping to slow the growth of waiting lists.
A recent audit of the impact of the xWave CDS platform across a hospital group in Ireland, in a cohort of head and neck cancer patients, showed a reduction of more than 60 per cent in unwarranted advanced cross sectional imaging requests.
This resulted in an overall reduction of referral volumes by more than eight per cent freeing up system capacity for the patients who need it most.
“In a recent report published by our team here at the Royal College of Radiologists, 98 per cent of NHS clinical directors expressed concern over workforce morale, stress, and burnout in their departments,” said Oliver Reichardt, CEO of the Royal College of Radiologists.
“Additionally, 97 per cent admitted to concern over the backlogs and delays to patients care, and 81 per cent cited worries about patient safety.
“However, evidence shows that CDS software has a really important role to play in reducing unnecessary tests and ensuring the right tests are requested first time.
“Promoting the adoption of successful technologies like xWave CDS is a crucial step in helping to relieve the very heavy workloads radiologists are facing this autumn,” Reichardt added.
xWave are already deploying their CDS solution in Ireland, where they have shown they helped reduce their users’ average referral-to-vetting time from seven and a half working days to 14 minutes.
The company begun working with GE HealthCare and The East Midlands Imaging Network (EMRAD), a partnership of eight NHS trusts covering more than five million patients, to develop a system to support radiology teams to improve the efficiency and consistency of the referral vetting process.
Professor Ronan Killeen, radiologist and clinical director at xWave, said: “Too often, owing to a lack of accessible guidance and support for clinicians, referrals are made for patients for scans that add little or no value to the patient journey.
“This needlessly extends wait times for everyone in the system and wastes hundreds of thousands of pounds.
“We built the xWave CDS to make sure that clinicians have access to the information they need, at the point of care, to make the right referral and vetting decisions.”
He added: “What really matters is that patients get the best test first, and with minimal waiting. xWave’s partnership with the Royal College of Radiologists is a huge step forward in making this a reality”.
Dr Graeme McNeill, chair of radiology, Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, said the CDS provides a “much-needed solution” for a long-standing problem.
“When clinicians use the platform, they are supported to select the most appropriate examination or imaging for their patient,” he explained.
“This means that when the request comes through to me, I can vet and approve it quickly, without the need for additional phone calls and emails. xWave CDS has made a massive difference to my team’s efficiency.”
