A few things that I mull over now and the but then dismiss on the grounds that "they would never go for that"
- Patient mentors: As many of us on here are well aware there are some people that have immense amounts of knowledge and are more than happy to share it along with their experience. I often think that if the specialist could essentially build up a network of Patient Mentors that have completed some formal training they are happy with and have had some kind of validation and sign off by the Dr's then that could save them a LOT of time with new T1's that really are still feeling their way. I don't suggest that Mentors would replace the HCP's but augment them in the community since I think having someone that knows where you are coming from would be very beneficial to many folks. Obviously there would need to be some kind of agreed communications channels so that the mentor could quickly and easily engage the HCPs and keep them in the loop.
- Longer period prescriptions or Self Signing authority: A sticky one I am sure but I for one am sick of how much time I end up wasting chasing prescriptions each month. I have asked about 90 day prescriptions and been given a resounding no. We are always going to need the insulin and associated supplies so why the hell they couldn't loosen things up there a little is annoying and it would sure as hell give a little time back to the Drs, even though with electronic slips they are a tad faster for them now.
- Full access to all of our tests results: And I mean like they enjoy in the US in some places. It is not beyond the realms of technology to offer this up in a "Simple" and "Expert" mode. So for people that don't really get what the numbers mean a traffic light system they can see with certain things like A1c graphed over time so they can see how they are doing long term. Expert mode offering the actual numbers under the hood, I know I often want to refer back to some things and have to dig through dozens of photocopies that come in several different formats.
- CGM: I too believe that this is a major blind spot with the NHS though I also believe that it should be looked at as part of an integrated system so that the data syncs to your core records so that the HCP's do actually have a much more complete picture of things. I am not suggesting that they will always look at them but if the data is there then it opens things up for them having Machine Learning algorithms being able to spot trends that could be of concern and alerting your team so that they can potentially help you sooner rather than later.
- Community interaction: I get that the Nurses and Dr's are all pretty busy though I think if they could be encouraged to get involved in communities like this, even if they are just reading what the mood and hot topics are, I think they would learn a hell of a lot and be able to offer a better service to patients. This sort of thing would require a mind shift from managers to actively support them taking the time to read up on these sorts of places.
- Openness to patient anecdotal evidence: We have all been there. HCP telling you that you should be doing things one way but you KNOW it works better for you another. They need to have a frameworks that would allow them to better collect and asses patient experience such that they don't end up just dismissing it out of hand. It would almost certainly accelerate how quickly they can respond to trends and tailor treatment regimens, or identify things that outright don't work so that they can work out why and then have solid facts when they need to persuade us otherwise
But like I said, this is all stuff I mull over from time to time but I seriously doubt the will and drive for the NHS to implement any of them will exist, certainly not while I am still kicking about. Some of them would send them running for the hills scared silly that it is allowing patients to make medical decisions, them not realising that we HAVE to do that multiple times every single day just to live.
That's my thoughts there anyway.
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