Elemental features on Health Innovation Network’s Social Prescribing Platforms Market Exploration

ELEMENTAL’S CORE SOCIAL PRESCRIBING PLATFORM HAS BEEN FEATURED ON THE HEALTH INNOVATION NETWORK’S SOCIAL PRESCRIBING PLATFORMS MARKET EXPLORATION, PREPARED FOR HEALTHY LONDON PARTNERSHIP, SEPTEMBER 2019.

ABOUT THE HEALTH INNOVATION NETWORK, SOUTH LONDON

The Health Innovation Network connects academics, NHS commissioners and providers, local authorities, patients and patient groups, and industry. They work to accelerate the spread and adoption of evidence-based innovations and best practice across South London and beyond. Acting as catalysts of improvement across the local health and care system, their work supports better health outcomes & economic growth. In September, the Network prepared a Social Prescribing Platforms Market exploration for Healthy London Partnership.

THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIAL PRESCRIBING

The Healthy Innovation Network acknowledges the emergence of technology within social prescribing and  states that “Digital Social Prescribing is a way of enhancing the key elements of the social prescribing process.”

These include:

•  Making community-based and online support more accessible through digital pathways
•  Developing an online triage function for social prescribing, so those with the most appropriate needs are directed to a link worker
•  Developing community directories so that they are accurate, up-to-date, and provide a baseline source of knowledge of the local area
•  Case management software, which enables a social prescribing service to understand the impact of their referrals on their client and the local voluntary and community sector

BETTER UNDERSTANDING EMERGING SOCIAL PRESCRIBING MODELS

The Health Innovation Network conducted a series of qualitative interviews and observations with staff across the social prescribing pathway. This allowed them to better understand the emerging models and understand the needs of various stakeholders including Link Workers, GP Practice Managers, Social Prescribing Project Managers, Social Prescribing Commissioners/Contract Managers  and Social Prescribing Regional Facilitators. 

An exploration of the functionality of various social prescribing technology platform providers took place which resulted in a  ‘long-list’ of companies being identified based on conversations with relevant stakeholders, desktop research and information gathered via the Futures NHS Social Prescribing Collaborative Platform. 

The list was then refined by by selecting 7 companies that appeared to have referral capabilities with further functionality exploration taking place through additional desktop research and telephone interviews and demos.

The assessment focussed on four themes:

FUNCTIONALITY

•  Users: Which individuals can use the platform to make and receive referrals?
•  Tracking/monitoring: What information can the referrer and receiver see?
•  Platform: What types of devices support the digital platform (e.g. computer, tablet, phone)?

INTEROPERABILITY

•  Which GP and social care clinical systems can the platform connect to? What are the other interoperability considerations?

COST

•  What is the cost model to use the platform? (e.g. cost per referral, cost per population) (if available)

WIDER BENEFITS

•  Are there other features of the software that could be used for other health/social care services? Are there already case studies of benefit?

Following discussions during the project, The Health Innovation Network also explored the maturity of the platform/company, adherence to GDS/NHS design principles, and other security accreditations.

CONTINUALLY ENHANCING OUR CORE DIGITAL SOCIAL PRESCRIBING PLATFORM

We’re honoured to feature in the long list of Health Innovation Network’s Social Prescribing Platforms Market Exploration, thanks to the continual development and innovative enhancement of our Core social prescribing platform.

Co founder and Co CEO Jennifer Neff said “Our inclusion in this exploration and position on the long list evidences our dedication to enhancing the impact of vital social prescribing programmes through technology. The commitment from our talented team, innovation and interoperability opportunities with our valuable partners, and continual championing from our customers, advisors and all stakeholders is why we are where we are today. What drives us is making social prescribing accessible to everyone who would benefit from it and recognising the role of the VCSE sector plays in delivering social prescribing services.”

Co founder and Co CEO Leeann Monk Ozgul said “We’re first and foremost a group of former community workers devoted to improving lives, connecting people and building communities. It’s where we came from and it’s embedded in the very bones of Elemental. We fully recognise the benefits of digital for health and being able to pair our passion for healthier communities with innovation underpinned by interoperability and shared beliefs is what makes our platform so special; not only is it tech for good, it’s tech for better, better evidence, better impacts, better outcomes and better lives.”

WHAT IS ELEMENTAL CORE?

Elemental Core is our award-winning digital social prescribing platform that is bridging the gap between  health, housing and the community with a range of digital solutions designed to support the strategy and practice of self care and independence. Health professionals and Social Prescribing Managers can use Elemental Core to:

•  Connect patients to suitable social prescribing programmes in their communities more effectively via our EMIS connector within EMIS Web
•  Evaluate the impact of a referral for an individual or across a community cohort
•  Contribute to achieving public health objectives
•  Strengthen partnerships between PCNs, VCSE organisations and Adult Social Care
•  Reduce avoidable GP appointments, saving time, cost and resources
•  Easily manage everything from within our Core social prescribing platform, meaning a seamless and simplified user journey
•  Report on and evidence impact and uptake

REPORT ON IMPACT AND OUTCOMES

Elemental Core boasts a range of reports that make it easier for you to measure and report on the impact and outcomes of your social prescribing programmes, identify health hot-spots and trends and track patient and cohort health journeys and progress.

•  Progress – Dashboard overview of resident’s health journeys on dial and graph. Filters include, gender, age, hub, region and cohort groups.
•  Attendance/Impact – attendance, activity, health journey – impact on a graph and broken down into figures for each monitoring tool.
•  Intervention Activity – List of interventions and attendance against these.
•  Strengthen partnerships between PCNs, VCSE organisations and Adult Social Care
•  User Case Activity – Monthly breakdown of number of referrals received, case status and interventions prescribed.
•  Activity – how many referrals received by referral source and agent, Reason for referral, Number of interventions prescribed, what interventions these were and by domain. At a glance, see how many patients are active, completed, discharged or waiting and sub category for these.
•  Programmes – reporting against target beneficiaries and interventions against programmes.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

We’re continually enhancing our platform to ensure that you can work in collaboration with a number of stakeholders in various sectors including health, housing, VCSE, and prison care.

•  INTEROPERABILITYVia our (rest) API, connect with existing platforms to push and pull specific data sets relating to population health
•  AGGREGATE REPORTSProvides accurate comparative epidemiological information to facilitate greater reporting on the effectiveness and efficiency of programmes and interventions.
•  ENHANCED DIRECTORY OF SERVICESEnables accredited VCSE providers to create and edit database of venues and interventions as well as allocate appropriate facilitators.
•  ATTENDANCE TRACKERFacilitate, track, and measure attendance rates of citizens across multiple community based lifestyle intervention providers.
•  SOCIAL PRESCRIPTION GENERATORReferring citizens to range of quality assured community based lifestyle interventions.
•  HEALTH RISK ANALYSISHelping citizens to better understand their health risk and track their health risk status using validated monitoring tools.
•  REFERRAL GENERATIONVia a browser on a desktop, mobile device or within specific Clinical Systems. Referrals can be made within 45 seconds and sent instantly. Referrals are tracked, viewed and analysed.
•  SELF-REFERRAL MODULECitizens will be able to self-refer and explore activities to promote and improve their health and wellbeing
•  HEALTH IMPACT MEASUREMENTTrack a citizen’s health and wellbeing improvement journey in real time and in line with their identified health risks.

You can view the Social Prescribing Platforms Market exploration prepared for Healthy London Partnership, September 2019 here. If you’d like to know more about our platform or experience Elemental Core in action via a 1-1 online demo, get in touch or pop your details below.