See here for a brief video explaining what it means if you have been contacted by the Trust.

See here for a brief video explaining what Predictive Health Intelligence is and what it does.

There are many conditions which can affect the liver including autoimmune conditions and viruses. Many people think alcohol is the only cause of liver problems – which is not true! We are focusing on all conditions which have an effective treatment. These treatments can help keep the liver working properly and reduce the risk of becoming unwell in the future.

The NHS spends £6bn every year on treating liver disease. Our solution will identify those in the early stages of liver disease when there is still time to treat them, in the hope that they do not become critically ill. If we can save just 1%, then the NHS will release an additional £60m to spend in other areas.

Predictive Health Intelligence was set up with a grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research to develop a case-finding search engine, designed to identify previously hidden cases of liver disease.  Information about the grant can be found here: (https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR200965).  The NIHR   was established in 2006 to “create a health research system in which the NHS supports outstanding individuals, working in world-class facilities, conducting leading-edge research focused on the needs of patients and the public”.  They are funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (SFT) stores a copy of the results of all blood tests taken in Somerset and processed in the central laboratory as part of the patient records that it keeps. This ensures that anyone treating patients in the Somerset health community has access to results which may be critical for diagnosis and monitoring.  SFT remains the controller for all the healthcare data used in this project, and this data is not passed to Predictive Health Intelligence Ltd.

We can only use data that GPs have provided consent for us to access.  Over three quarters of GPs in Somerset have done this.    The only pieces of information used by the case finding database are the individual’s NHS number, date of birth and blood test results which are relevant in the diagnosis of chronic liver disease. No other personal health information is used. Before any data is shared, the specialist data team at Somerset FT removes all other information.  

The project follows strict NHS guidelines on confidentiality and information governance. This includes a high level of data security which ensures that only authorised members of the project team can access data. The team has also obtained appropriate approvals throughout this project prior to working with any data.

The recall process is being undertaken by Musgrove Park Hospital and supported by Predictive Health Intelligence, a partnership of clinical, healthcare Information and IT, and NHS experts.  You can get more information from our website, www.predictivehealthintelligence.co.uk where you will find out more about PHI and our partners and a video explaining more about the patient recall.

The NHS spends £6bn every year on treating liver disease. Our solution will identify those in the early stages of liver disease when there is still time to treat them, in the hope that they do not become critically ill. If we can save just 1%, then the NHS will release an additional £60m to spend in other areas. 

No. This is a genuine partnership, bringing together the excellence of the NHS, the clinical experience of Dr Tim Jobson and the Information Management know-how of Neil Stevens. Supported by grant funding from the National Institute for Health Research, it is set up to overcome the barriers we often see in projects such as this and make a real difference to patients.