In our latest #OurEntrepreneurs profile we meet cohort 8 Clinical Entrepreneur Ryan Cooper, Point of Care Testing Lead.
Tell us a bit about yourself
I trained as a Biomedical Scientist in NHS Medical Laboratories, gathering Quality Management knowledge and experience throughout my career. I gained a unique perspective of laboratory accreditation from both customer and assessor points of view, which have given me a good understanding of the minimum requirements of medical laboratory accreditation, which now includes requirements for Point of Care Testing. Point of care testing (POCT), refers to any analytical test performed for or by a patient outside the conventional laboratory setting.
Name: Ryan Cooper
Occupation: Point of Care Testing Lead.
Location: NHS National Services Scotland.
In my current national role, I aim to promote the use of POCT across the NHS, increasing access to diagnostic tests closer to the patients. To support this aim, I am working with Scottish Government to implement Point of Care Testing national framework, including objectives from the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) Point of Care Testing Strategy.
Tell us about your innovation
One of the key barriers and areas of difficulty when designing a safe and effective Point of Care Testing service, is IT connectivity. Without IT connectivity, the Point of Care devices cannot automatically communicate with the electronic patient record, increasing the risk of manual transcription errors and no results being added to the patient record, which is vital for patient management along their medical journey. As each new POCT service is in the planning phase, each user has to complete the same tasks regardless of if they have been successfully implemented in another part of the country. This duplication of effort wastes staff time and reduces the opportunities to perform trend analysis activities from the POCT services, reducing clinical governance data.
I aim to create a national IT connectivity resource, which can be easily accessed by any new POCT service, reducing the existing IT barriers, while maintaining a safe robust connection and management of patient information. Using cloud technology, this will prevent the need for local physical servers having individualised software installations and local management of recurring servicing, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
The silo structure in the NHS makes it more difficult to implement POCT services as these services typically crossover several silo areas and budgets. NHS Scotland currently has no framework in government to inform potential POCT services of good practice and all of the quality assurance processes required with diagnostic patient tests. Medical laboratories have expert knowledge with diagnostic testing, however, resources in laboratories to support new POCT services out with the medical laboratory are very limited. Evidencing the impact and effectiveness of POCT services is a challenge to collate sufficient information to demonstrate the positive effects on patient management.
Why did you apply to join the programme, and what are you most looking forward to?
I found out about the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme in the HealthandCare.Scot newsletter. I was interested in the programme’s outcomes from the previous cohorts, and it appeared to be a vital resource to address the challenges I am experiencing within my national POCT role.
I look forward to hearing learning and experiences from other areas of the UK, utilising the expert knowledge I don’t currently have to support the challenges I am experiencing and discussing plans with members of the programme who have experience with similar solutions from previous years.
What are your ambitions for the next year?
Over the next year I hope to connect with various members of the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, working through solutions and processes to implement along the entrepreneurial journey. I also hope to use the knowledge and connections developed by the programme to create an IT solution to facilitate an increased equitable implementation of POCT across Scotland.
Why do you think innovation is important in healthcare?
Innovation is very important within the NHS, including my focus on POCT technology, which is available to support patient management in the NHS, reducing pressures on secondary hospitals, reducing waiting lists and increasing positive patient experiences, with services closer to their home. However, identifying and implementing POCT services has various barriers in place, one of which is the IT connectivity. My innovation will drastically reduce one of the barriers to implementing POCT services, facilitating more opportunities for this technology to be used in the NHS.
How can we find out more?
Please email ryan.cooper2@nhs.scot for more information.