Pathfinder Group - Case Study

Introducing Pathfinder Group

Access and Pathfinder Group first began working together in late 2022, with the mental health care provider in need of an electronic patient records solution to support its care provision. 

Pathfinder Group was founded by clinicians and provides care for people with complex mental health needs. As part of this they provide 26 specialist beds for men with severe & enduring mental conditions at Ashness House in Harrow, North London, as well as broader community rehabilitation services for residential care, nursing care, and supported living. 

The group takes on referrals from secure mental health settings, the prison service, and from the community, with a team of Consultant Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Nurses and Recovery Workers.

Challenges 

Pathfinder, like many healthcare providers, is under pressure to keep pace with the ongoing digitisation sweeping across the health and care industries. The organisation was still partly paper-based for record keeping and communications, but with regular inspections from the Care Quality Commission it was only a matter of time before they’d need to act and pursue a new solution. 

Paper records are at risk of damage, loss, or security breach via theft or unauthorised access of sensitive information. On top of that there is then the reduced speed of communicating said patient records in the event of treatment elsewhere, which is why electronic health records are the new expected standard. 

Choosing the right solution 

The right patient record solution has to optimise efficiency at the bare minimum. This doesn’t mean there can’t be a learning period or an onboarding period to implement the software, but a care service has to be provided and cannot be paused to set up a new system of working. 

Pathfinder Group wanted a solution that was reasonably swift to set up, within a set budget, and that could be tailored to their needs as a bespoke mental health care provider and would retain their current process management – just digitised. 

The consideration was whether to pursue a health CRM (customer relations management) solution or an EPR. The healthcare CRM records details, but it’s not as suited to the end-to-end timeline of patient care, nor do they synchronise as well with other record solutions in other healthcare settings.

Electronic patient records (EPR) can handle patient data, demographics, psychographics, and have note functions to allow clinicians to add details and context to events, incidents, or clinical decisions being logged. The best EPRs are also interoperable, meaning they can communicate to these other software solutions within the NHS to share accurate patient information to ensure the best care. 

Many of these electronic health records can do more with the patient information too. The best-in-class solutions have the ability to collate, anonymise, and analyse data to extrapolate incident patterns and patient behaviour, as well as to flag instances where it might appear a patient is deteriorating or about to suffer a setback. 

How Access helped

Pathfinder Group reached out to us at The Access Group off the back of Rio EPRs uptake within NHS Trusts. Seeing that they were using Rio EPR as their electronic health record solution, Pathfinder got in touch, but they didn’t need our full Rio EPR suite of modules. Instead, they wanted a simpler solution that could be rolled out quickly and simply digitise their existing work process – or mimic it as closely as possible. 

With that in mind we pitched Rio Cloud; our streamlined electronic patient record solution. This is the core of what makes up the EPR, without added modules to support specific care remits. It’s a pre-configured solution that is scalable with company growth, it can typically be deployed in a few months, and additional training is available. Rio Cloud’s key strength is that it provided real-time information about patients, and that live status is crucial to providing quicker interventions and generating better care outcomes.  

In the case of Pathfinder Group, we also worked with them and their requirements to tailor our service. Ordinarily we’d offer a care plan module, as we have a suite of ready-made modules to suit different healthcare services, but based on their budget and their existing workflow we instead adapted our existing assessment forms. By customising these, we replicated their care plan with a digital build that was affordable for them and provided the functionality they needed. We worked together to avoid unnecessary expenses, meaning Pathfinder can use its money on care provision. 

When a patient has been referred to us, we now have secure, instant access to that patient’s medical records, which has saved us time trying to get a basic understanding of the person’s situation, asking fewer questions about previous treatments; providing a better patient experience.

Lewys Savill, Operations Director, Pathfinder Group

Benefits 

Rio Cloud as an electronic medical records solution is proven to improve patient care, safety, and safeguarding, and we’ve already demonstrated to Pathfinder that it’s flexible enough to meet customer needs.  

Rio Cloud has increased efficiency in record keeping and note taking, meaning Pathfinder has been able to spend more time on the important clinical care and patient relationships and less on data entry and triple-checking for errors. Here is a list of other benefits Pathfinder have experienced with the use of Rio Cloud: 

Efficient Access to Patient Records: Pathfinder Group now has immediate access to comprehensive patient records, allowing them to gain a thorough understanding of each patient's medical history and treatment needs without delay. 

Enhanced Patient Care: With streamlined access to patient information, Pathfinder Group has been able to focus more time and attention on delivering personalised care, leading to improved patient outcomes and satisfaction. 

Improved Compliance and Reporting: They can now easily facilitate statutory reporting to evidence the care provided, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements such as those set by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We also offer role based access, to help with safeguarding and appropriate data access, and Rio Cloud is GDPR compliant for privacy. 

Reduced Risk of Errors: By consolidating patient information into a single platform and eliminating manual processes, Pathfinder Group has significantly reduced the risk of errors and misinterpretation of handwritten records, enhancing patient safety and peace of mind. 

Enhanced Collaboration: Rio Cloud has enabled seamless communication and collaboration between Pathfinder Group and other healthcare providers, facilitating smoother transitions of care between different settings and ensuring continuity of treatment for patients. 

Flexibility and Accessibility: With Rio Cloud accessible via compatible web browsers and internet connections, the workforce at Pathfinder Group have been able to view and update patient care records from anywhere, providing greater flexibility and responsiveness in patient care delivery. 

Using Access Riocloud has helped us to improve our digital security and now we are compliant with the NHS data protection toolkit.

Dr Adam Huxley, CEO, Pathfinder Group

Results 

The implementation of Rio Cloud has not only improved the overall quality of care but also enhanced operational efficiency, compliance, and collaboration across the organisation. As a result, Customer Pathfinder has established itself as a trusted healthcare provider, earning the confidence of patients and other healthcare trusts alike. 

We are proud that Rio Cloud is a market-leading patient record solution. It was developed alongside clinicians and we continue to coordinate and collaborate with external experts and customers to optimise our software so that it meets their needs and the needs of the healthcare market.

Rio Cloud has enabled us to start our digital transformation. We’ve moved away from the familiar paper-based patient records, but with Access we have peace of mind that we’re holding this sensitive information securely and we are now in line with NHS’ vision for a digitisation.

Lewys Savill, Operations Director, Pathfinder Group